Willard is an English surname and given name from the Old English Wilheard, composed of willa, "will", and heard, "brave" or "hardy". It was a top 100 name in the United States in the early 1900s and belongs to the vintage layer of names like Wendell and Wilbur that are slowly being rediscovered. Willard stood at number 1814 in 2000 and has stayed rare since, ranking number 2760 in 2025 with 47 births.