Alwilda
An Old German feminine name composed of elements meaning "old" and "battle".
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Alwilda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alwilda today is around 98 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alwilda births was 1918 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alwilda. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Alwilda is about 98 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Alwildas were born before 1938.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Alwilda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
1918
25 babies that year
Average age
98
years old
1940 SSA rank
#2,742
Tracked since 1886
Popularity
Alwilda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alwilda from the 1880s through to the 1940s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 109 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alwilda by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Alwilda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alwildas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Alwilda
The name Alwilda has its origins in the Germanic languages, deriving from the Old High German elements "alu" meaning "all" and "willio" meaning "will" or "desire". It is believed to have emerged during the 8th to 10th centuries in the regions of modern-day Germany and Austria.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alwilda can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the Bavarian region, where an individual named Alwilda is mentioned in a charter from the year 822 AD. This suggests that the name was in use among the Germanic tribes and settlements during the early medieval period.
In the 11th century, an Alwilda is recorded as a nun at the Benedictine convent of Niedernburg in Passau, Bavaria. This indicates that the name was not only used among the general population but also within religious communities of the time.
During the 12th century, an Alwilda von Schwaben is mentioned in the chronicles of the Swabian nobility. She was married to Count Berthold III of Andechs, a prominent figure in medieval Germany, suggesting that the name was also adopted by aristocratic families.
In the 13th century, an Alwilda von Tübingen is recorded as the abbess of the convent of Rottenmünster in Rottweil, Baden-Württemberg. This further reinforces the use of the name within religious orders during the Middle Ages.
Another notable Alwilda was a 14th-century noblewoman from the House of Wittelsbach, a dynasty that ruled over parts of Bavaria and the Palatinate. She was the daughter of Duke Rudolf II of Bavaria and married to Count Johann I of Nassau-Weilburg.
While the name Alwilda has fallen out of common usage in modern times, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of Germanic and medieval naming traditions, reflecting the cultural and linguistic heritage of the regions where it originated and was prevalent.
People
Alwilda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alwilda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Alwilda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alwilda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alwilda going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Alwilda a common name?
We classify Alwilda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 312 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alwilda most popular?
The single biggest year for Alwilda was 1918, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alwilda is about 98 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Alwilda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alwilda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alwilda in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Alwilda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alwilda in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Alwilda can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Alwilda?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.