Names That Start With W
Here are the names that start with W that families actually use, taken from US birth records: 484 girl names, 541 boy names and 2 names often given to both. Each column below shows the 25 used most often, with the number of babies given the name since 1880.
W names have a soft, rounded start that feels friendly. Wanda and Wilma read as classic girls' names, while William and Walter are long standing boys' favorites.
Boys lead slightly here, roughly 540 names against 480. Willie appears in both lists. Wynn is a short unisex choice.
Bill, Will and Walt are familiar short forms. Wesley and Warren give a gentle two beat rhythm that suits most surnames. Separate W lists exist for girls and boys if you want to narrow your search.
- Girl names
- 484
- Boy names
- 541
- Unisex names
- 2
- Last names
- 5,251
Most popular names that start with W
Top girl names
- Wanda 281,024
- Wendy 260,673
- Willie 146,148
- Wilma 139,751
- Whitney 95,545
- Winifred 43,260
- Willow 27,552
- Willa 26,342
- Winnie 23,540
- William 15,949
- Wendi 14,483
- Wilda 12,752
- Wilhelmina 12,070
- Winona 10,964
- Winter 8,351
- Whitley 5,475
- Windy 4,926
- Winnifred 4,696
- Wynter 4,543
- Wren 4,188
- Walter 3,633
- Wynona 3,500
- Willia 3,316
- Willene 2,928
- Wanita 2,504
Top boy names
- William 4,102,604
- Walter 620,767
- Willie 448,702
- Wayne 352,008
- Wesley 212,355
- Warren 175,759
- Wyatt 147,397
- Wallace 81,335
- Willard 77,299
- Wade 68,737
- Wilbur 56,641
- Wendell 53,114
- Willis 51,874
- Wilson 45,546
- Will 44,369
- Weston 42,649
- Wilbert 39,835
- Woodrow 38,386
- Wilfred 29,197
- Winston 26,454
- Walker 23,679
- Waylon 20,410
- Wiley 17,043
- Wilmer 15,185
- Ward 14,683
W names popular right now
Girl and boy names starting with W in the 2017 top 1,000, with their rank.
- William #3 boy
- Wyatt #25 boy
- Willow #81 girl
- Weston #109 boy
- Wesley #111 boy
- Waylon #161 boy
- Walter #265 boy
- Walker #314 boy
- Warren #360 boy
- Wade #362 boy
- Winston #405 boy
- Winter #449 girl
- Willa #453 girl
- Wren #465 girl
- Wilder #573 boy
- Wynter #623 girl
- Wilson #638 boy
- Willie #804 boy
- Wayne #813 boy
- Westin #834 boy
- Whitney #835 girl
- Westley #849 boy
- Wesson #885 boy
- Will #895 boy
Unisex names that start with W
Names where at least a quarter of babies were girls and at least a quarter were boys.
| Name | Girls | Boys | Babies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waverly | 50% | 50% | 3,936 |
| Wynn | 29% | 71% | 2,872 |
More letters: unisex names A to Z.
Names that start and end with W
- Woodrow
- Willow
- Winslow
- Wladyslaw
- Wyllow
- Waclaw
- Williow
- Whitelaw
- Williaw
Common last names with W
- Williams
- Wilson
- White
- Walker
- Wright
- Ward
- Wood
- Watson
- Wallace
- West
- Wells
- Woods
- Webb
- Washington
- Wagner
- Warren
Questions people ask
What are the most common names that start with W?
For girls, Wanda, Wendy, Willie, Wilma. For boys, William, Walter, Willie, Wayne. These have been given to the most babies in US records.
How many names start with W?
US birth records list 484 girl names and 541 boy names starting with W.
What are gender neutral names that start with W?
Names often given to both girls and boys include Waverly, Wynn.
What names start and end with W?
Woodrow, Willow, Winslow, Wladyslaw, Wyllow, Waclaw, Williow, Whitelaw.
Source: US Social Security baby name records for every name given to at least 5 babies in a year, from 1880 to 2017; last names from the US Census surname list (every surname shared by 100 or more people).