Wilson

Wilson: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “son of Will”
Origin: English
Say it: WIL-sən · 2 syllables
Used for: Boys

From an English and Scottish surname meaning 'son of Will', with Will a short form of William. It is a patronymic used as a given name in surname style.

English names Scottish names Surname-style names Classic names

How popular is Wilson?

2024130 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Wilson in 2024431

2024 rank#644 boys

Peak year1918

Total US babies since 188048,613

Wilson is steady now but far below its 1918 peak.

Names like Wilson

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Liamresolute protector · Irish
Williamresolute protector · Germanic
Guillermoresolute protector · Germanic
Willresolute protector · Germanic
Billresolute protector · Germanic
Willisdescendant of Will · English
JackGod is gracious · English
Hudsonson of Hudd · English

Wilson questions

What does the name Wilson mean?

Wilson means "son of Will". It comes from English. From an English and Scottish surname meaning 'son of Will', with Will a short form of William. It is a patronymic used as a given name in surname style.

Is Wilson a boy or girl name?

Wilson is mainly a boy's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Wilson?

431 US babies were named Wilson in 2024. Its peak year was 1918.

How do you pronounce Wilson?

Wilson is usually pronounced WIL-sən.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.