Willmetta
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly derived from Germanic roots.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Willmetta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Willmetta today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Willmetta births was 1915 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Willmetta. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Willmetta. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1915
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1920 SSA rank
#5,744
Tracked since 1910
Popularity
Willmetta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Willmetta from the 1910s through to the 1920s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 11 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Willmetta remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Willmetta by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Willmetta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Willmetta
The name Willmetta is an English feminine given name of uncertain origins. It is believed to have emerged in the late 19th or early 20th century, likely as a blend or variation of the names Wilhelmina and Etta.
Wilhelmina is a Germanic name derived from the elements "wil" meaning will or desire, and "helm" meaning helmet or protection. The name was popularized in the Middle Ages and was borne by several European royals, including Wilhelmina of Prussia (1751-1820) and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (1880-1962). Etta, on the other hand, is a shortened form of names like Henrietta or Loretta.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Willmetta appear to be from the late 19th century, particularly in the United States. One of the earliest documented bearers of the name was Willmetta Blain (1887-1962), an American educator and activist from Illinois.
Another notable Willmetta was Willmetta Caldwell (1904-1984), a prominent American lawyer and judge from California. She was one of the first African American women to practice law in the state and served as a municipal court judge in Los Angeles from 1962 to 1973.
In the field of literature, Willmetta Waddell (1892-1979) was an American author and librarian who wrote several books on African American history and folklore.
Willmetta Ingles (1903-1977) was a pioneering American aviator and flight instructor. She was one of the first women to earn a commercial pilot's license in the United States and played a significant role in promoting aviation education for women.
Lastly, Willmetta Crumb (1886-1968) was an American botanist and educator who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in the Pacific Northwest region.
While the name Willmetta was not widely popular, it has been borne by a number of notable individuals throughout history, primarily in the United States, reflecting its unique and distinctive character.
People
Willmetta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Willmetta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Willmetta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Willmetta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Willmetta going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about - US residents.
Is Willmetta a common name?
We classify Willmetta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Willmetta most popular?
The single biggest year for Willmetta was 1915, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Willmetta is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Willmetta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Willmetta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Willmetta in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Willmetta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Willmetta in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Willmetta can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Willmetta?
You can see how many people share the name Willmetta on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.