Meaning and background
The story behind Willoughby
Willoughby is an English habitational surname drawn from places so named. Some of those place names combine an Old English term for willow with Old Norse bȳ, meaning a farm or village. This is a place-name derivation, not a literal claim that every Willoughby means one willow tree. The name's distinctive longer rhythm may be shortened in daily use, though the historical roots belong to a different tradition from William and Willie.
- Origin
- English habitational surname from places named Willoughby; recorded place-name formations include Old English willow + Old Norse bȳ “farmstead, village”. Source
Try Willoughby out loud
Everyday moments“Willoughby, come here!”
Say it as you would on a walk or at home. Does it feel natural alongside your usual commands and other pets’ names?
About Willoughby
Recorded as a dog’s name
Willoughby appears in 3 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/wɪləbi/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/wɪləbi/ · primary stress on syllable 1W IH1 L AH0 B IY0
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
Compare your favourites
Put Willoughby beside another name before you decide.
Explore names like Willoughby
Narrow the finder by the features you want to keep.
Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.