Wilard
A masculine name from Old French derived from Germanic roots meaning "wild, bold, or fearless".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Wilard. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wilard today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wilard births was 1925 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wilard. 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 Wilard. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1925
7 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
1969 SSA rank
#4,397
Tracked since 1925
Popularity
Wilard: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wilard from the 1920s through to the 1960s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 7 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wilard 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 Wilard during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wilard
The name Wilard is derived from the Old English name Wilard or Willard, which is a combination of the Germanic elements "wil" meaning "will" or "desire" and "hard" meaning "hardy" or "brave." Its roots can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon period in England, around the 5th to 11th centuries.
The name Wilard was relatively common among the Anglo-Saxons and was often given to male children as a reflection of the parents' desire for their son to grow up to be a strong and courageous individual. It was particularly popular in areas such as Mercia, Wessex, and Northumbria, which were major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilard can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This suggests that the name was well-established among the English population before the Norman Conquest.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Wilard. One of the most famous was Wilard of Avranches (c. 1030-1115), a Norman monk and hagiographer who wrote the Life of St. Nicholas. Another was Wilard de Bailloul (c. 1175-1233), a Scottish nobleman and crusader who participated in the Fifth Crusade.
In the 13th century, Wilard de Croy (c. 1230-1285) was a prominent Flemish knight and military leader who served under various French kings. A few centuries later, Wilard Wanley (1672-1726) was an English antiquarian and palaeographer known for his work in preserving and cataloguing manuscripts.
During the American Revolutionary War, Wilard Saltonstall (1722-1799) was a merchant and politician from Massachusetts who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress. He was also a member of the state's ratifying convention for the United States Constitution.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the name Wilard, reflecting its enduring presence and significance across various cultures and time periods.
People
Wilard + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wilard 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
Wilard: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wilard?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wilard 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 Wilard a common name?
We classify Wilard 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, 13 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wilard most popular?
The single biggest year for Wilard was 1925, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wilard is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wilard a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wilard 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.