Wenceslaus
A masculine Slavic name meaning "greater glory" or "greater brightness".
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Wenceslaus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wenceslaus today is around 83 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wenceslaus births was 1928 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wenceslaus. 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 Wenceslaus is about 83 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Wenceslaus' were born before 1953.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wenceslaus. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1928
11 babies that year
Average age
83
years old
1939 SSA rank
#3,951
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Wenceslaus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wenceslaus from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 27 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Wenceslaus remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wenceslaus 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 Wenceslaus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wenceslaus' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Wenceslaus
The name Wenceslaus has its origins in the West Slavic language family, specifically Czech. It is derived from the Slavic elements "vęčę" meaning "greater" and "slava" meaning "glory". The name can be translated as "greater glory" or "more glorious". The modern Czech spelling is "Václav".
The name rose to prominence in the 10th century due to St. Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (907-935). He was martyred by his pagan brother and later became the patron saint of Bohemia. The famous Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas" is about this historical figure.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (1205–1253). He was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty and ruled as King of Bohemia from 1230 until his death.
Wenceslaus IV (1361–1419) was the King of Bohemia from 1363 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1376 until his death. He was known for granting city privileges and supporting the establishment of the first university in Central Europe, Charles University in Prague.
Wenceslaus Hollar (1607–1677) was a Bohemian etcher and prolific artist who produced over 2,700 plates during his lifetime. He is especially renowned for his detailed landscapes, architectural studies, and reproductions of other artists' work.
Wenceslaus Clemens of Saxony (1739–1812) was a Duke of Saxony and a Polish prince from the House of Wettin. He served as the last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights from 1801 until the order was dissolved in 1809.
Wenceslaus Raphael Bougueret (1804–1876) was a French Orientalist painter who specialized in depicting scenes from everyday life in the Middle East and North Africa. He is known for his detailed and realistic depictions of Eastern subjects.
People
Wenceslaus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wenceslaus 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
Wenceslaus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wenceslaus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wenceslaus 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Wenceslaus a common name?
We classify Wenceslaus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 61 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wenceslaus most popular?
The single biggest year for Wenceslaus was 1928, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wenceslaus is about 83 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 Wenceslaus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wenceslaus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wenceslaus 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.
Is Wenceslaus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wenceslaus 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 Wenceslaus 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 many people share the name Wenceslaus?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.