Wilson
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Meaning
from the English surname meaning son of Will (William); widely used as a given name in Haiti
The story
August Wilson made his most consequential name choice before the world knew his plays. He was born Frederick August Kittel, with a white German father and a Black mother, Daisy Wilson. As a young man he dropped Kittel and took his mother's surname. Wilson began as an English patronymic, literally a son of William, but his choice made it speak about a mother. That name later stood above plays such as Fences and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, works that made ordinary Black lives, arguments, jokes, and ambitions command a stage. The story does not turn Wilson into a promise of artistic talent. It shows something more human: surnames are inherited, but people can also decide which inheritance they mean to carry forward. In August Wilson's case, a familiar family name became both an act of allegiance and the signature on a life's work.
Wilson across languages
One shared root links 12 names across 3 languages.
Shared root: from Germanic Willahelm, wil "will, desire" + helm "helmet, protection"
The constellation
9 more branches of this family
How popular is Wilson around the world?
In the United States, 2,411 babies were named Wilson between 2020 and 2025. At the 2022 census, 164,178 people in Brazil were named Wilson, the 200th most common name, with a median age of 52.
Wilson is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, South Australia, Canada, Scotland, Montevideo, Chile, Argentina, Spain, England and Wales and France.
United States
1 in 9,000
In the United States, 2,411 babies were named Wilson between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Wilson peaked in the 1910s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Wilson has stayed between 2,318 and 4,915 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 1,200
At the 2022 census, 164,178 people in Brazil were named Wilson, the 200th most common name, with a median age of 52.
Among people named Wilson living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 479 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
South Australia
1 in 4,6002017
In South Australia, 4 boys were registered as Wilson in 2017.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 11,000
In Canada, 34 boys named Wilson were born in 2024, the 772nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Scotland
1 in 11,000
In Scotland, 4 boys named Wilson were registered in 2024, the 619th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Montevideo City
1 in 12,0002011
In Montevideo, 2 boys named Wilson were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Chile
1 in 14,000
In Chile, 13 boys were registered as Wilson in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Argentina
1 in 26,000
In Argentina, 25 newborns were given the name Wilson in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 27,000
In Spain, 1,661 residents are named Wilson, the 931st most common name among men, with a mean age of 46.3 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
England and Wales
1 in 39,000
In England and Wales, 15 boys named Wilson were born in 2025, ranked 1,705th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
France
1 in 43,000
In France, about 15 boys named Wilson were born in 2025, ranked 2,049th among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Austria
last on record 2022
Wilson is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Ireland
last on record 2007
Wilson is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Mexico City City
last on record 2021
Wilson is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
New Zealand
last on record 2019
Wilson is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Puerto Rico
last on record 2013
Wilson is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 241 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Not on the record in Poland: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Wilson
Most people given the name Wilson in the United States were born between 1960 and 2019. The Wilson you meet today is most often in his 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Wilson travels
Haitian · A documented choice in Haitian families.
Keep exploring
The Wilson deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Wilson truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Wilson fits with your family’s names and surname.
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