Willow

Willow is a modern English given name taken directly from the word for the willow tree, itself derived from Old English welig. The tree has long been associated with grace, flexibility, and in some traditions mourning and melancholy, lending the name a poetic, nature-inspired character. It gained popularity as a given name primarily in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, part of a broader trend of botanical and nature names for girls. Willa and Wilhelmina share a superficial resemblance but are unrelated, belonging instead to the Germanic will-helm lineage.