Willow
Meaning of Willow
Willow, pronounced the gentle WIL-oh, drifts into the world from the Old English “welig,” yet—much like the silver-leafed salici shading Lombardy’s canals—she quickly entwines herself with every landscape she meets, suggesting a child destined to bend without breaking and to shimmer with quiet strength; in folklore she is the tree that hums beside moonlit water, in Shakespeare the mournful bough that hears Desdemona’s song, and in modern nurseries a fresh botanical star whose popularity has swelled like a Tuscan river after spring rain, rising happily into America’s Top 50 names; evoking soft rustling lullabies, a dash of eco-elegance, and just enough whimsical irony (after all, what toddler isn’t occasionally a “weeping” willow?), the name paints a portrait of grace, resilience, and lyrical beauty that Italian poets might call dolce flessibilità—sweet flexibility—promising parents a daughter who will sway with life’s breezes yet root herself firmly in love.
Pronunciation
British English
- Pronunced as WIL-o (/ˈwɪləʊ/)
American English
- Pronunced as WIL-o (/ˈwɪloʊ/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Willow
| Willow Smith is an American singer, actress, and dancer, daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, with honors including a Young Artist Award, an NAACP Image Award, a BET Award, and Grammy and Daytime Emmy nominations. |
| Danielle Paultre, known as Willow Nightingale, is an American pro wrestler signed to AEW, a former AEW TBS Champion, and a former champion in NJPW and CMLL. |
| Willow Shields is an American actress best known for playing Primrose Everdeen in The Hunger Games films, earning Young Hollywood and MTV Award nominations for the second and fourth installments. |
| Willow Katherine Kayne is a British singer who won the 2021 Ivor Novello Rising Star Award and is a member of Loud LDN. |
| American model and equestrian Alexandra Willow Hand opened the Prada fall winter 2015 show at 16 and walked the 2018 Victorias Secret Fashion Show. |
