US first names, 1940–2025
Random names that start with W
William, Walter, Wayne and several hundred rarer W names, paired with real American surnames. Hit generate until one fits.
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About W names
Between 1940 and 2025 the Social Security Administration recorded 915,602 girls across 538 different W names, and 4,846,058 boys across 540.
Each name is drawn with the odds it had in real life, so common names come up often and rare ones now and then. Surnames come from the 2000 U.S. Census and are picked separately. Set realism to 0 under more options and every name becomes equally likely.
More about these names
What the data says
- About 1 in 2 girls with a name starting with W born from 1940 to 2025 got one of just 10 names. Those 10 names hold 82.0% of all recorded girls with a name starting with W.
- Among girls with a name starting with W, names behave like 16 equally common names out of 538 in use (effective number of names).
- The average girl's name starting with W has 5.6 letters.
- About 1 in 2 boys with a name starting with W born from 1940 to 2025 got one of just 10 names. Those 10 names hold 87.9% of all recorded boys with a name starting with W.
- Among boys with a name starting with W, names behave like 8 equally common names out of 540 in use (effective number of names).
- The average boy's name starting with W has 6.5 letters.
- Fastest riser for girls: Wrenley, from 39 births in 2006 to 2015 to 7,909 in 2016 to 2025.
- Biggest fall for girls: Wendy, from 5,400 births in 2006 to 2015 to 2,203 in 2016 to 2025.
- Fastest riser for boys: Wells, from 427 births in 2006 to 2015 to 5,426 in 2016 to 2025.
- Biggest fall for boys: Willie, from 3,955 births in 2006 to 2015 to 1,996 in 2016 to 2025.
Girls: Top 20 names
| # | Name | Births | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wendy | 261,692 | 28.58% |
| 2 | Wanda | 189,104 | 20.65% |
| 3 | Whitney | 97,633 | 10.66% |
| 4 | Willow | 64,479 | 7.04% |
| 5 | Wilma | 41,069 | 4.49% |
| 6 | Willie | 33,468 | 3.66% |
| 7 | Willa | 19,266 | 2.10% |
| 8 | Winter | 15,619 | 1.71% |
| 9 | Wendi | 14,522 | 1.59% |
| 10 | Wren | 13,631 | 1.49% |
| 11 | Winifred | 11,176 | 1.22% |
| 12 | Wynter | 10,728 | 1.17% |
| 13 | Winnie | 10,567 | 1.15% |
| 14 | William | 9,273 | 1.01% |
| 15 | Whitley | 8,148 | 0.89% |
| 16 | Wrenley | 7,948 | 0.87% |
| 17 | Winona | 6,428 | 0.70% |
| 18 | Windy | 4,971 | 0.54% |
| 19 | Wilhelmina | 4,734 | 0.52% |
| 20 | Waverly | 4,493 | 0.49% |
Boys: Top 20 names
| # | Name | Births | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William | 2,741,102 | 56.56% |
| 2 | Walter | 283,633 | 5.85% |
| 3 | Wayne | 273,753 | 5.65% |
| 4 | Willie | 238,538 | 4.92% |
| 5 | Wesley | 212,068 | 4.38% |
| 6 | Wyatt | 206,762 | 4.27% |
| 7 | Warren | 109,772 | 2.27% |
| 8 | Weston | 74,600 | 1.54% |
| 9 | Wade | 65,925 | 1.36% |
| 10 | Waylon | 54,720 | 1.13% |
| 11 | Walker | 44,499 | 0.92% |
| 12 | Wendell | 37,258 | 0.77% |
| 13 | Wallace | 36,563 | 0.75% |
| 14 | Wilson | 31,238 | 0.64% |
| 15 | Willard | 27,394 | 0.57% |
| 16 | Winston | 26,852 | 0.55% |
| 17 | Will | 22,313 | 0.46% |
| 18 | Willis | 20,915 | 0.43% |
| 19 | Wilbert | 19,126 | 0.39% |
| 20 | Wilbur | 15,843 | 0.33% |
Girls: 2006 to 2015 → 2016 to 2025
Rising fastest
- Wrenley 39 → 7,909
- Wilder 54 → 563
- Wateen 36 → 342
- Winslow 101 → 834
- Winona 259 → 2,127
Falling fastest
- Wendy 5,400 → 2,203
- Whitney 5,253 → 2,807
- Wisdom 347 → 468
- Wilhelmina 568 → 1,257
- Wednesday 352 → 812
Boys: 2006 to 2015 → 2016 to 2025
Rising fastest
- Wells 427 → 5,426
- Wylder 216 → 2,291
- Woods 67 → 597
- Wilder 886 → 6,742
- Welles 59 → 401
Falling fastest
- Willie 3,955 → 1,996
- Wilbert 465 → 241
- Will 3,822 → 2,096
- Wilfredo 703 → 386
- Wilber 499 → 322
Questions and answers
What was the most common girl's name starting with W from 1940 to 2025?
Wendy. 261,692 girls received it, 28.58% of all recorded girls born from 1940 to 2025 with a name starting with W.
What was the most common boy's name starting with W from 1940 to 2025?
William. 2,741,102 boys received it, 56.56% of all recorded boys born from 1940 to 2025 with a name starting with W.
How concentrated are names from 1940 to 2025?
Among girls with a name starting with W the 10 most common names cover 82.0% of births; among boys with a name starting with W 87.9%. In this period boys' names were the more concentrated set.
What share of babies get a name starting with W?
Across 1940 to 2025, 1.9% of recorded births had a first name starting with W.
Which names grew fastest compared with 2006 to 2015?
Among names with at least 300 births in 2016 to 2025, the biggest gains were for girls, Wrenley (39 births in 2006 to 2015, 7,909 in 2016 to 2025); for boys, Wells (427 births in 2006 to 2015, 5,426 in 2016 to 2025).