Willard

Where Willard comes from

From Old English wil (“will”) + heard (“brave, strong”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Willard
  • Old English
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #154 among boys — 88 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1908
    Willard Libby born
    American physical chemist
  3. 1915
    Peak, #58
    2,889 babies named Willard — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1924
    Willard Boyle born
    Canadian physicist and inventor
  5. 1931
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #124.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Old English of mostly American usage. Partly transferred back from the surname.
Namesakes
  • Willard Libby · American physical chemist, 1908–1980
  • Willard Boyle · Canadian physicist and inventor, 1924–2011
  • Willard Van Orman Quine · American philosopher and logician, 1908–2000
  • Willard Scott · American weather presenter and television personality, 1934–2021
  • Willard Metcalf · American artist, 1858–1925

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.