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Willow

Girl name · 1,676 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Willow: 1,676 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to girls, peaking at 153 births in 2019.

Willow entered the modern Scottish naming scene as a direct adoption of the graceful, moisture-loving tree, whose name derives from the Old English *welig* and carries a sense of pliancy and resilience. Its most famous bearer is the American actress Willow Smith, whose 2010 hit “Whip My Hair” made her a pop-culture phenomenon. The name also recalls the fictional Willow Rosenberg from *Buffy the Vampire Slayer*, a beloved character who helped popularise it. In a neat botanical coincidence, the willow is the national tree of Scotland’s Hebridean island of Lewis, where it thrives in boggy lowlands. A notable variant is Willa, while the name’s gentle sound has helped it bloom in Scotland since the 1990s.