Willow

Willow meaning

Willow is an international girl's name of English origin (Old English).

The willow tree; Old English welig

Also used to mean: graceful

Willow is the English name of the graceful tree that grows by water, with long, bending branches. Bosworth and Toller's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary records the Old English form welig, "a willow", glossing it with Latin salix, and the Online Etymology Dictionary links it to a Germanic root probably meaning "to turn", used for curved and pliant things; the spelling -ow came in the fourteenth century. English also uses "willowy" for someone slender and graceful, which is why name lists add that sense. It is said WIL-oh, and like Indian nature names such as Vanya or Tulsi it has a gentle feel.

Source: Bosworth & Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (1898) · entry welig · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Bosworth-Toller, welig · Online Etymology Dictionary, willow

Famous namesakes

• Willow Smith, American singer

Popularity abroad

• #44 United States, girls 2025 (down 3 from 41 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #20 England and Wales, girls 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Willow · Willo

Related names

Also meaning nature

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