Wilson
Wilson is a male first name. Notable people with the name include:
Meaning & Origin of Wilson
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Wilson is a male first name. Notable people with the name include:
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Wilson
Wilson first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1880, with 72 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1918, when 1,381 Wilsons were born — ranking #122 that year. As of 2026, Wilson ranks #650 for baby boys with 429 births, holding steady (+2%). In total, more than 49K Wilsons have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Where is Wilson most common?
Predicted country distribution based on naming patterns globally.
- United States42%
- New Zealand17%
- United Kingdom15%
- JM13%
- Australia13%
Source: Nationalize.io . Probabilities are global naming-pattern estimates, not strict counts.
Names that sound like Wilson
Phonetically similar names — useful when Wilson is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Wilson
What does the name Wilson mean?
How popular is Wilson in 2026?
When was Wilson most popular?
In which U.S. states is Wilson most popular?
Is Wilson a unisex name?
What names go well with Wilson?
About the name Wilson
Wilson is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 49K births in the dataset. Wilson's peak popularity came in 1918 when it ranked #122. Use the chart and map above to compare Wilson's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1918 →
- Names of the 1910s →
- Names starting with "W" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.