How common is the surname Wills?

28,219 people in the United States had the surname Wills in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 10,941 Americans. It ranked 1,244th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Wills?

Helen Wills, American tennis player (1905–1998), followed by Chill Wills.

Where is the surname Wills most common?

Wikidata records people named Wills in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

How do you pronounce Wills?

Wills is /wɪlz/, one syllable.

Is the surname Wills getting more or less common?

More common. 28,036 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 28,219 in 2010, up 0.7%.

Is Wills also a first name?

Yes. Wills is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Wills

A patronymic surname, carried by 28,219 people in the United States.

Pronounced /wɪlz/ 1 syllable Soundex W420

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Wills is more common than 99.2% of them.

Origin

From Will + -s (patronymic suffix).

Wills is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 28,219 people named Wills in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 10,941 Americans. That is up 0.7% since 2000, when the Census counted 28,036.

#1,244

rank among US surnames

28,219

people in 2010

9.6

per 100,000 Americans

+0.7%

change since 2000 (was #1,143)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,235	Carranza	28,581	10,802
#1,236	Sharma	28,559	10,811
#1,237	Kern	28,547	10,815
#1,238	Chu	28,508	10,830
#1,239	Knowles	28,460	10,848
#1,240	Ma	28,452	10,851
#1,241	Madison	28,411	10,867

Who is named Wills

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

76% of people named Wills identified as white (not Hispanic), 18% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 76%
Black (not Hispanic) 18%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.7%
Two or more races 2.1%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Willss

15 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Helen Wills
American tennis player (1905–1998)
Chill Wills
American actor (1902–1978)
Bob Wills
American musician (1905–1975)
Beverly Wills
Actress (1933-1963)
Mary Wills
American costume designer (1914-1997)
Tom Wills
Australian sportsman (1835–1880)
Anneke Wills
British actress, born 1941
Rick Wills
British bassist, born 1947
Garry Wills
American author, political philosopher and historian (born 1934)
Maury Wills
American baseball player and manager (1932–2022)
Alan Wills
British archer, born 1981
Mark Wills
American country music artist, born 1973

Notable Willss come mostly from the United States (11), the United Kingdom (3) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Willes

Surnames that sound like Wills

Wills has the Soundex code W420, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code W420.

Questions

Where does the surname Wills come from?: From Will + -s (patronymic suffix).
How common is the surname Wills?: 28,219 people in the United States had the surname Wills in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 10,941 Americans. It ranked 1,244th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Wills?: In the 2010 Census, 76% of people named Wills identified as white (not Hispanic), and 18% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Wills?: Helen Wills, American tennis player (1905–1998), followed by Chill Wills.
Where is the surname Wills most common?: Wikidata records people named Wills in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
How do you pronounce Wills?: Wills is /wɪlz/, one syllable.
What type of surname is Wills?: Wills is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Wills getting more or less common?: More common. 28,036 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 28,219 in 2010, up 0.7%.
What are other spellings of Wills?: Willes.
Is Wills also a first name?: Yes. Wills is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.