Fun Facts About the Name Willodene
- 241 babies named Willodene: U.S. records list 241 babies given the name Willodene from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Willodene Mean?
Willodene is a rare feminine given name with no securely documented origin in an older language. It appears to be a coined compound of familiar name elements rather than a form handed down from Latin, Greek, or Hebrew. The first element, Willo-, most plausibly reflects the short forms of names such as Willa and Wilhelmina (from Germanic Wilhelm, "resolute protector"), and it also resembles Willie. The tree name Willow is a less likely source for early bearers, since Willow only became common as a given name in the late twentieth century.
The second element, -dene, is equally ambiguous. It appears in other feminine names such as Bernadene and Ardene, and it matches English place names and surnames formed from Old English denu, "valley." That would suggest a loose sense such as "valley," but in names of this kind the ending often works as a decorative suffix rather than a meaningful word. No fixed literal meaning can therefore be attached to Willodene as a whole.
Willodene Name History & Origins
Willodene belongs to a small family of feminine names - including Willodean, Willadean, and Willadene - that are found mainly in the United States, and most often in the South. These forms resemble the double names common in that region, in which a short name such as Willa, Willie, or Willow was joined to Dean or Dene and eventually written as a single word.
The spelling with -dene rather than -dean is one of several variants of the same name, and the two endings are pronounced alike in American English. The -dene form also overlaps with the Old English place-name element denu ("valley"), which survives in English surnames and place names such as Dean and Dene; that overlap makes it impossible to say with confidence which element a particular family intended. What the evidence supports is that Willodene is a compound name rather than a translation of a single older word, so its history is the history of its parts and of the practice of joining two short names into one.
How Popular is the Name Willodene?
Willodene has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1928. Its best rank was #1,876 in 1932.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | #3,730 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1940 | #3,498 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1939 | #4,939 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1936 | #4,841 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1935 | #3,425 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1934 | #4,279 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1933 | #2,402 | 13 | 0.0013% |
| 1932 | #1,876 | 19 | 0.0018% |
| 1931 | #2,304 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1930 | #3,340 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1929 | #1,890 | 20 | 0.0018% |
| 1928 | #1,895 | 21 | 0.0018% |
| 1927 | #2,337 | 16 | 0.0013% |
| 1926 | #2,472 | 15 | 0.0013% |
| 1925 | #2,016 | 20 | 0.0016% |
| 1924 | #2,510 | 15 | 0.0012% |
| 1923 | #4,956 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1922 | #5,772 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1921 | #3,394 | 10 | 0.0008% |
| 1920 | #5,746 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1919 | #4,240 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1918 | #4,795 | 6 | 0.0005% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Most Popular Girl Names That Start with W
How the Name Willodene Shapes Your Personality and Life?
To express itself, you must follow the divine law of love. You have great persistence and hate to give up. You are a good mixer, charming, magnetic and intuitive. The spirituality is the key to success. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You desire to inspire and lead, to control other's affairs. You are giving, courageous and bold, action oriented,energetic and strong willed. You want to make a difference in the world, and this attitude often attracts you to cultural interests, politics, social issues, and the cultivation of your creative talents.
✦ Willodene's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Willodene's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.