This English and Scottish surname of Willis is a varied form of the name William or Will. It refers to the son of William. Other spellings include Wyllys, Wylle and Wylly.

The origin locations for the Willis families are England and Ireland.

Counties of Essex, Kent and the London area have the higher percentage of Willis families. The Scottish counties of Lanarkshire and Midlothian have large numbers of the Willis surname.

States with Willis families are New York, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. Farming was the main occupation of Willis families in the 1880s.

Famous: Browne Willis (18th century antiquarian, author and numismatist), Bruce Willis (actor of films and TV), Dontrelle Willis (professional baseball pitcher for Detroit Tigers), Frank Willis (19thcentury architect, associated with early Gothic Revival churches in Canada and USA), Harold ‘Chuck’ Willis (blues/rock singer and songwriter), Katherine Willis (TV actress), Mark Willis (Australian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer), Nathaniel Parker Willis (early 19thcentury American author, magazine writer, poet and editor working with Poe and Longfellow), Paul Willis (child actor of the silent film era of 1910s and 1920s), Rev. Robert Willis (19thcentury English scientist as a mechanical engineer) and Thomas Willis (17thcentury English doctor and founder of modern neurology and founding member of the Royal Society).