Freddy
A masculine diminutive of the Germanic name Frederick, meaning "peaceful ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 21,217 living Americans carry the first name Freddy. It is a predominantly male name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Freddy today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Freddy births was 1947 (441 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Freddy. 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
- • Although Freddy is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 172 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
21K
~ 1 in 16,155 Americans
Peak year
1947
441 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,328
Tracked since 1896
Gender
Gender distribution for Freddy
Out of the 26,839 babies given the name Freddy since 1880, 99.4% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Freddy as a male name
- Ranked #1,328 in 2024
- 144 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1947 (436 births)
Freddy as a female name
- Ranked #14,164 in 1994
- 5 female births in 1994
- Peak: 1943 (9 births)
Popularity
Freddy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Freddy from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 4,037 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Freddy 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 Freddy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Freddys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 36 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Freddy, while South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 614 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Freddy
The name Freddy is a diminutive or nickname form derived from the Germanic name Frederick. Frederick itself is composed of the elements "frid" meaning peace and "ric" meaning ruler or power. The name can be traced back to the Old High German name "Friderich" from around the 8th century AD.
The name Frederick first appeared in the Frankish Empire during the Carolingian dynasty. One of the earliest recorded instances is the 8th century Duke Frederick of Upper Lorraine, a grandson of Charlemagne. The name grew in popularity across medieval Europe, particularly in Germany, France, and England.
One of the most famous bearers of the name was Frederick I, also known as Frederick Barbarossa, who ruled as King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 to 1190. He was a prominent figure during the Crusades and expanded the power of the Holy Roman Empire.
Another notable Frederick was Frederick II, known as Frederick the Great, who ruled as King of Prussia from 1740 to 1786. He was a skilled military leader and an influential monarch during the Enlightenment period, known for his patronage of the arts and sciences.
In England, Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King George II, was instrumental in introducing the name to Britain in the early 18th century. His grandson would later become King Frederick William III of Prussia.
Other famous historical figures named Frederick include Frederick Douglass, the renowned American abolitionist and social reformer (1818-1895), and Frederick Chopin, the celebrated Polish composer and pianist (1810-1849).
The diminutive form Freddy emerged as a common nickname, particularly in English-speaking countries. It has been used by various individuals throughout history, such as Freddy Krueger, the fictional villain from the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" film series, and Freddy Mercury, the legendary lead singer of the rock band Queen (1946-1991).
Notable bearers
Famous people named Freddy
People
Freddy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Freddy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Freddy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Freddy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21,217 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Freddy 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 16,155 US residents.
Is Freddy a common name?
We classify Freddy as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 26,839 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Freddy most popular?
The single biggest year for Freddy was 1947, when 441 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Freddy is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Freddy a male name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Freddy in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.