Wildred
Variant of the medieval masculine name Wilfred meaning "desires peace".
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Wildred. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.1% of registrations being female. The average person named Wildred today is around 82 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wildred births was 1919 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wildred. 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 Wildred is about 82 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Wildreds were born before 1954.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wildred. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1919
9 babies that year
Average age
82
years old
1924 SSA rank
#4,945
Tracked since 1917
Gender
Gender distribution for Wildred
Wildred leans heavily female at 86.1% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Wildred as a male name
- Ranked #4,945 in 1924
- 5 male births in 1924
- Peak: 1924 (5 births)
Wildred as a female name
- Ranked #5,078 in 1932
- 5 female births in 1932
- Peak: 1919 (9 births)
Popularity
Wildred: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wildred 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 17 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wildred 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 Wildred 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 Wildred
The given name Wildred is of Germanic origin, derived from the Old German elements "willio" meaning "will" or "desire," and "rad" meaning "counsel" or "advice." It emerged during the early medieval period, around the 5th to 8th centuries, in regions inhabited by Germanic tribes such as the Franks, Saxons, and Goths.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to ancient manuscripts and chronicles from the Frankish and Saxon kingdoms. One notable mention is found in the Annales Regni Francorum, a historical record from the late 8th century, where a Wildred is listed among the noblemen of King Charlemagne's court.
Throughout the Middle Ages, Wildred was a relatively common name among the nobility and landed gentry of Germanic descent. In the 11th century, a Wildred of Flanders was a prominent diplomat and advisor to several European monarchs. A century later, Wildred von Saalfeld, a German knight, was celebrated for his valor and leadership during the Crusades.
As the name spread across Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Wilfred, Wilfrid, and Wilfried. One of the most famous bearers of the name was Saint Wilfrid, a 7th-century bishop and missionary who played a significant role in the spread of Christianity in England. His life and deeds were chronicled in the Vita Sancti Wilfrithi, an important historical text from the Anglo-Saxon period.
Another notable figure was Wilfred the Hairy, a 9th-century count of Barcelona and a prominent military leader during the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors. His exploits were recorded in the Crónica de San Juan de la Peña, a medieval Spanish chronicle.
In the 12th century, Wilfred of Ivanhoe was a fictional character created by Sir Walter Scott in his renowned novel "Ivanhoe." This chivalrous and brave knight became an iconic figure, popularizing the name in English literature and culture.
People
Wildred + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wildred 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
Wildred: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wildred?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wildred 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Wildred a common name?
We classify Wildred as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wildred most popular?
The single biggest year for Wildred was 1919, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wildred is about 82 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 Wildred in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wildred a female name?
Yes, 86.1% of people registered as Wildred 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.
Is Wildred still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wildred 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 Wildred 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 are called Wildred?
Find out how many people have the name Wildred on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.