Willie is a diminutive form of the name William, which is of German origin and means "resolute protection." The name Willie has been used for centuries and was particularly popular in English-speaking countries during the mid-20th century. It is often associated with the blues music genre, as famous musicians like Willie Nelson have brought it to prominence. Despite its long history, Willie remains a unique and distinctive name that stands out from other traditional boys' names.
The name Willie has been quite popular in the United States throughout history, with a significant number of births recorded each year since 1880. In the late 19th century, the number of babies named Willie ranged from around 470 to over 2,100 per year. The peak of this period occurred in 1900 with 2,113 births.
In the early 20th century, the popularity of the name Willie continued to grow, reaching an all-time high of 6,942 births in 1919. This trend continued until the mid-1930s when the number of births began to decline gradually.
By the late 1950s and early 1960s, the popularity of the name Willie started to decrease significantly, with fewer than 5,000 births recorded per year. This downward trend continued throughout most of the second half of the century until it reached a low point in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Despite this decline in popularity, there were still consistently several hundred babies named Willie each year between 1976 and 2023. However, as time went on, the number of births continued to decrease gradually until it reached a record low of just 143 births in 2023.
Throughout history, the name Willie has been given to over 449,890 babies born in the United States alone. Although its popularity has waxed and waned over time, Willie remains a classic and enduring name choice for parents across America.