Explore the Family Name Willows

The meaning of Willows

English (Lincolnshire): from the plural form of Middle English wilwe, wilghe, wil(l)owe ‘willow’ (Old English wilig, welig), for a person who lived in an area where willow trees grew, or from a place so named. In some cases this may be a variant of Willow, with post-medieval excrescent -s.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Willows in the United States?

The surname "Willows" saw a mild decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010, according to data derived from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, Willows was ranked as the 70,052nd most popular surname, with a count of 261 instances per 100,000 people. However, by 2010, its rank had dropped slightly to 75,799, and the count per 100,000 people had also decreased to 254, marking a change of -2.68%. The proportion of people with the surname Willows also dipped by 10% over the same period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#70,052	#75,799	-8.2%
Count	261	254	-2.68%
Proportion per 100k	0.1	0.09	-10%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Willows

In terms of ethnic identity, again based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the majority of individuals with the surname Willows identify as white, although there has been a slight decrease in this percentage. In 2000, approximately 95.4% identified as white, but by 2010, this figure had dropped to 92.52%. Interestingly, the percentage of individuals identifying as black increased marginally from 2.3% in 2000 to 2.36% in 2010. There were no recorded instances of individuals with the surname Willows identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, or American Indian/Alaskan Native in either 2000 or 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.4%	92.52%	-3.02%
Black	2.3%	2.36%	2.61%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%