Wilson

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 2 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Wilson is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish surname4.5M records spelled Wilson16 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Brazil, France, Colombia

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French

  Also written Wilsón, Wïlsön, W'Ilson, Wilsön, Wílson

• a separate surname540K records spelled Wilson3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Ecuador

  Also written Wilsón

• Polish surname36K records spelled Wilson19 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Poland, Czechia, United Kingdom

  Languages: Polish, Czech, Croatian

  Also written Vilson, Вилсон, Уилсън, Wïļšöň

• Indonesian surname29K records spelled Wilson5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Indonesia, Malaysia, United Kingdom

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay, Malagasy

  Also written Wilsoñ, Wilşon

• Greek surname21K records spelled Wilson3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Ουΐλσον, Ουιλσον

104 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Wilson is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, English patronymic surname meaning ‘son of Will(iam)’.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In English, From the father’s name William/Willie; Wulson noted from 1405. In the north, some may descend from William Gunn’s 15th-century clan branch.

  as a name·Scottish Surnames

• Transferred use of the surname, in origin a patronymic from Will. Use as a given name in the United States was inspired by President (Thomas) Woodrow Wilson 251 (1856-1924); cf. the similar adoption as a given name of Woodrow. Short form of ) Winifred.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, An English, Scottish and northern Irish surname originating as a patronymic.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, ‘son of Will (i)’.

  as a name·Encyclopedia of surnames [the complete companion to tracing your names history]

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Woodrow Wilsonb. 1856USpresident of the United States from 1913 to 1921 (1856–1924)
• Charles Thomson Rees Wilsonb. 1869GBScottish physicist and meteorologist (1869-1959)
• Michael Wilsonb. 1914USAmerican screenwriter (1914-1978)
• Harold Wilsonb. 1916GBPrime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964-1970 and 1974-1976 (1916–1995)
• Edward Osborne Wilsonb. 1929USAmerican biologist, naturalist, and writer (1929–2021)
• Robert Woodrow Wilsonb. 1936USAmerican astronomer (born 1936)
• Owen Wilsonb. 1968USAmerican actor (born 1968)
• Chandra Wilsonb. 1969USAmerican actress and director
• Ryan Giggsb. 1973GBnot in their usual nameWelsh association football player and coach
• Patrick Wilsonb. 1973USAmerican actor

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,263 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Wilson?

We estimate roughly 816 thousand people bear Wilson (counting its spellings and scripts) across 12 countries in our records.

In which country does Wilson have the most bearers?

We estimate about 802 thousand people bear Wilson in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled wilson.

Where is Wilson most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Wilson is densest in Guyana — about 1 in 217 people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is Wilson compared with other names?

In the United States, Wilson is the 11th most common surname of 7,257,200 surnames recorded there.

What does the name Wilson mean?

Recorded meaning: 'son of Will', i.e. William; first attested Robert WUleson 1324