Willie Nelson
There are approximately 316 people named Willie Nelson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,084,666 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Willie with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Nelson. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
316
1 in 1,084,666
Named Willie
219K
Alive today
Named Nelson
494K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 219K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Unisex
Peak year: 1925
Average age: 66
Estimated bearers: 494K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #43
Per 100K: 144.06
Top ancestry: White (77.7%)
First name trend
Willie: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Willie. The peak year was 1925 with 11,071 births. The average person named Willie today is 66 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Nelson surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Nelson, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 77.7%.
- White77.7%
- Black or African American16.0%
- Hispanic or Latino2.5%
- Two or more races2.0%
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Willie has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0640% of the US population, based on 219,365 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Nelson appears at a rate of 144.06 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.1441%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 316 people with the full name Willie Nelson. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Willie
Related
Other people with the surname Nelson
FAQ
Willie Nelson: questions and answers
How many people are named Willie Nelson?
We estimate approximately 316 people in the United States share the full name Willie Nelson. That works out to about 1 in 1,084,666 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0640%) with the surname frequency (144.06 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Willie Nelson?
We classify Willie Nelson as "Very Rare". About 1 in 1,084,666 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Willie a male or female name?
Willie is predominantly unisex. Out of 596,221 total SSA registrations, 75.5% were male and 24.5% were female. See the full Willie profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.