# Willems (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/willems/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from English, variant of Williams

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 2,707 |
| US rank (2010) | 11,597 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 114,055 people |
| Change since 2000 | +8.1% (2,505 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* (English): From a medieval variant of William + the patronymic suffix -s. * (Dutch): From Dutch Willems

## Who carries it

Share of people named Willems in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 90% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 3.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 2.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Willems in Belgium and the United States.

## People named Willems

- Gabriella Willems, Belgian judoka
- Frederik Willems, Belgian road bicycle racer
- Daniel Willems, Belgian road bicycle racer (1956–2016)
- Henri Willems, bobsledder
- Mo Willems, American children's books illustrator and writer
- Florent Willems, Belgian painter (1823-1905)
- Ludwig Willems, Belgian bicycle racer
- Thimo Willems, Belgian cyclist

## Similar surnames

Williams, Wilmès, Willms, Williamson, Willingham, Willing, Walling, Wellington, Welling, Walmsley, Wallingford, Wellons.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.