Willy

Where Willy comes from

From Will + -y.
— Wiktionary's entry for Willy
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1884
    First appearance
    #971 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1896
    Peak, #900
    7 babies named Willy — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1897
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births.
  4. 1913
    Willy Brandt born
    German politician (SPD), chancellor of West Germany (1969–1974) and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
  5. 1914
    Mostly boys from here
    Until now more girls than boys got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
  6. 1977
    Willy Sagnol born
    French football manager
In the dictionary
  • A diminutive of the male given name William
Namesakes
  • Willy Brandt · German politician (SPD), chancellor of West Germany (1969–1974) and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, 1913–1992
  • Willy Sagnol · French football manager, born 1977
  • Willy Caballero · Argentine association football player, born 1981
  • Willy van de Kerkhof · Dutch association football player, born 1951
  • Willy Boly · French-Ivorian footballer, born 1991

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.