The given name Wilder originated as a German surname derived from the Middle High German word "wildern," which means "to hunt" or "to roam." This term was initially used to describe someone who lived in the wilderness or hunted in the wild.

The name Wilder can be traced back to the 13th century in Germanic regions, where it was commonly used as a descriptive surname for those who lived in remote, forested areas or made a living through hunting and trapping.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilder dates back to 1273 in the town of Nuremberg, Germany, where a man named Conradus Wilderer was mentioned in a legal document.

Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods, the name Wilder was particularly prevalent in Germanic-speaking regions of Europe, such as Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.

One notable historical figure with the name Wilder was Wilder von Rappoltstein, a 14th-century German knight and military commander who fought in the Hundred Years' War against France.

In the 16th century, the name Wilder was also found in England, likely brought over by Germanic settlers or mercenaries. One example is William Wilder, an English merchant and explorer who traveled to the West Indies and the Americas in the late 1500s.

Another famous bearer of the name was Johann Wilder, a 17th-century German composer and organist known for his contributions to the development of Baroque music.

In the 19th century, the name Wilder gained popularity in the United States, particularly among families with German or Swiss ancestry. One prominent individual was Wilder Dwight, an American educator and author who founded the Knickerbacker Lyceum in New York in 1832.

Lastly, one of the most renowned figures with the name Wilder was Thornton Wilder, the celebrated American playwright and novelist who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1928 for his novel "The Bridge of San Luis Rey." He was born in 1897 and passed away in 1975.