Wickham
A masculine name of Old English origin meaning "dwelling place for wool makers".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Wickham. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wickham today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wickham births was 2021 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wickham. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wickham. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2021
6 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2021 SSA rank
#12,060
Tracked since 2021
Popularity
Wickham: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Wickham 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 Wickham during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Wickham
The given name Wickham has its origins rooted in the Old English language, dating back to the early medieval period in England. The name is believed to have derived from the combination of the Old English words "wic" and "ham," which together translate to "dwelling place" or "homestead."
Wickham was originally a place name, referring to small villages or settlements that were established in the Anglo-Saxon era. As a personal name, it likely emerged as a way to identify individuals based on their place of origin or residence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wickham can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of land ownership and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions several locations with the name Wickham, suggesting that the name was already in use as a place name by that time.
In the Middle Ages, the name Wickham appeared in various historical records and chronicles, often associated with individuals from different social strata, including nobles, clergymen, and commoners. One notable figure with this name was Sir Thomas Wickham, a 14th-century English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War and served as the Marshal of Calais.
During the Renaissance period, the name Wickham gained further prominence. William Wickham, an English clergyman and scholar born in 1539, played a significant role in the English Reformation and served as the Bishop of Lincoln.
In the 18th century, Wickham Steed, born in 1737, was a renowned English engraver and artist known for his intricate works of art and contributions to the field of printmaking.
Another notable individual with the name Wickham was William Wickham, an English politician and diplomat born in 1761. He served as the Chief Secretary for Ireland and later as the British ambassador to various countries, including Spain and Portugal.
In the 19th century, George Wickham, born in 1819, was a prominent English architect responsible for designing several notable buildings, including the Manchester Town Hall and the Leeds Corn Exchange.
The name Wickham has continued to be used throughout history, with various individuals bearing this name and leaving their mark across different fields, including literature, arts, and sciences.
People
Wickham + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wickham 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
Wickham: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wickham?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wickham 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Wickham a common name?
We classify Wickham as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wickham most popular?
The single biggest year for Wickham was 2021, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wickham is about 5 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 Wickham in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wickham a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wickham 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 Wickham still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wickham 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 Wickham 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 have the name Wickham?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.