Wills Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Wills Name Meaning: Name given to children of those named Will, which is a short form of William, Wilbert or Willard

Given to someone who lived by a spring or stream from Middle English 'wille' & Old English 'well(a)' meaning spring. Found mainly in the south of England. 'Will' was a very common medieval personal name.It has a topographic meaning for someone who lived by a spring or stream,short for 'William'.

Discover how your Wills ancestors earned their living and spread across the country. Find out more about your family history by using the Free Search box.

Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Wills Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Wills family

Profession Census Frequency
Scholar 1,946
Agricultural Labourer 179
General Labourer 173
Domestic Servant 131
Living On Own Means 121
Dress Maker 114
Living On Her Own Means 102
Farm Labourer 100
Labourer 96
General Servant Domestic 87
Coal Miner 86
Farmer 85
Laundress 84
Carpenter 65
House Keeper 53
General Servant 50
Gardener 46
Tin Miner 43
Clerk 38
Tailor 35
Blacksmith 35
General Domestic Servant 34
Cook Domestic Servant 33
Grocer 33
Shoe Maker 33

Wills Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Wells 80% 171,754
2 Willis 83% 106,940
3 Wills 100% 78,607
4 Wallis 67% 73,315
5 Walls 80% 27,068
6 Willes 83% 9,795
7 Walles 67% 4,645
8 Wellis 67% 2,620
9 Willies 71% 2,051
10 Wallas 67% 1,603
11 Welles 67% 1,413
12 Woolls 67% 558
13 Willas 83% 375
14 Wils 80% 258
15 Wallies 57% 223
16 Willsea 71% 214
17 Willias 71% 191
18 Woollas 57% 181
19 Wallase 57% 131
20 Woollis 57% 121
21 Wollas 67% 107
22 Wollis 67% 101

Did you know?

The surname Wills is the 3rd most popular variant of Wells.

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