Walda
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly derived from the German word "wald" meaning "forest".
Name Census estimates that about 111 living Americans carry the first name Walda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Walda today is around 81 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Walda births was 1948 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Walda. 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 Walda is about 81 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Waldas were born before 1955.
People living today
111
~ 1 in 3,087,877 Americans
Peak year
1948
36 babies that year
Average age
81
years old
1957 SSA rank
#6,987
Tracked since 1911
Popularity
Walda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Walda from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 129 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1940s peak, Walda remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Walda 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 Walda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Waldas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Walda
The name Walda is of Old Germanic origin, derived from the root words "walt" meaning "rule" and "wald" meaning "forest." It first emerged in the 5th century among the Germanic tribes of central and northern Europe, particularly in areas that are now modern-day Germany and the Netherlands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Walda can be found in the 8th century Franconian genealogies, where it appears as the name of a noble woman from the Frankish kingdom. In the 9th century, a Benedictine abbess named Walda was noted for her leadership of the Reichenau Abbey in present-day Germany.
The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly among the nobility and ruling classes of Germanic regions. Walda Walpurga, a 9th-century Bavarian noblewoman, is remembered for her influential role in the spread of Christianity in southern Germany. Another notable figure was Walda of Hesse, a 12th-century countess who played a significant role in the politics of the Holy Roman Empire.
In the later medieval period, the name appeared in various literary works and historical chronicles. The 13th-century Icelandic saga Völsunga saga mentions a character named Walda, while a 14th-century German chronicle records a noblewoman named Walda von Büren.
Throughout history, several other notable individuals have borne the name Walda. These include Walda of Reichersberg, a 12th-century German abbess and writer, and Walda von Isenburg, a 14th-century German noblewoman who served as the regent of the County of Isenburg-Büdingen.
While the name Walda was predominant in Germanic regions during the medieval and early modern periods, it has become less common in modern times. However, it remains a part of the cultural heritage and historical legacy of these regions, reflecting the rich linguistic and cultural traditions of the Germanic peoples.
People
Walda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Walda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Walda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Walda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 111 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Walda 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 3,087,877 US residents.
Is Walda a common name?
We classify Walda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 330 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Walda most popular?
The single biggest year for Walda was 1948, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Walda is about 81 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Walda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Walda 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.
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.