Wilson

English

"son of Will"

Wilson Origin and Meaning

The name Wilson is a boy's name of English origin meaning "son of Will".

Wilson is a substantive presidential choice far less prevalent than Taylor or Tyler, and with the advantage of being a new route to friendly nickname Will. We see Wilson growing in popularity as an alternative to William; and as a patronymic, it would make a conceivable (if possibly confusing) choice for a son of William.

Being the tenth most common surname in the U.S., Wilson has countless possible last-named namesakes in every field, from politics to show biz. Those with Wilson as a first name are harder to find, beyond soul singer-songwriter Wilson Pickett and Wilson Rawls, author of the beloved book Where the Red Fern Grows. Wilson is also the name of Tom Hank's friend, the volleyball, in the movie Castaway.

Wilson Rank in US Top 1000

# 670 in the US

Wilson Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 996 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Wilson

• 670 US 2023
• 996 Nameberry 2025
• 659 Future 2028
• 959 England 2020
• 94 Portugal 2014

20 Names Similar to Wilson

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Wilson.

• Reggie
• Nelson
• Davis
• Watson
• Hank
• Gordon
• Howie
• Louie
• Jed
• Eddie
• Clifton
• Russell
• Rodney
• Murray
• Prescott
• Alvin
• Guy
• Marvin
• Coleman
• Roy

Famous People Named Wilson

• Wilson Chandler American basketball player
• (Stephen) Wilson Bethel American actor
• Wilson Pickett American soul and R&B singer
• Wilson Shannon American politician; 14th and 16th Governor of Ohio
• Wilson Yip Hong Kong actor, director and screenwriter
• (Woodrow) Wilson Rawls American novelist
• Ronald Wilson Reagan 40th President of the United States
• Mason Wilson Gamble American actor
• Woodrow Wilson 28th President of the United States
• Owen and Luke Wilson American actors
• Brian Dennis and Carl Wilson, founding members of the Beach Boys

The name Wilson in Pop Culture

• Wilson volleyball in movie "Cast Away"
• Wilson West character on TV's "7th Heaven"
• Wilson Percival Higgsbury character from video game "Don't Starve"
• Wilson Klaus character on TV's "Into the Dark"
• Dr. James Wilson character on TV's "House" known mostly as Wilson
• "Wilson " song by Phish
• "Jackie and Wilson " song by Hozier