Wilford
A masculine name of Old German origin meaning "will" and "ford".
Name Census estimates that about 3,349 living Americans carry the first name Wilford. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wilford today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wilford births was 1926 (276 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wilford. 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 Wilford is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Wilfords were born before 1969.
People living today
3.3K
~ 1 in 102,345 Americans
Peak year
1926
276 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,748
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Wilford
Out of the 10,438 babies given the name Wilford since 1880, 100.0% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Wilford as a male name
- Ranked #14,116 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1926 (276 births)
Wilford as a female name
- Ranked #5,748 in 1925
- 5 female births in 1925
- Peak: 1925 (5 births)
Popularity
Wilford: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wilford from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 2,497 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
Wilford 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 Wilford during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wilfords live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. Texas, Missouri, Utah recorded the most babies named Wilford, while South Dakota, Oregon, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 167 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wilford
The name Wilford is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from the Old English words "wil" meaning "will" or "desire" and "ford" meaning a shallow place where a river can be crossed. It dates back to the medieval period in England, where it was common for names to reflect geographical features or personal characteristics.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilford can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror. This suggests that the name was already in use among the Anglo-Saxons before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
In the 12th century, the name Wilford is mentioned in the chronicles of the Benedictine monastery of St. Albans, where a monk named Wilford is recorded as having served as a scribe and illuminator of manuscripts.
During the Middle Ages, the name Wilford was particularly popular in the northern counties of England, such as Yorkshire and Northumberland. This could be attributed to the prevalence of fords in these regions, where settlements often developed near river crossings.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Wilford was Sir Wilford Woodhouse, a 14th-century English knight who fought alongside Edward III in the Hundred Years' War against France.
In the 16th century, the name Wilford gained prominence with the birth of Wilford Holcroft, an English Catholic priest and martyr who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I for refusing to renounce his faith.
Another famous bearer of the name was Wilford Woodruff, an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1889 to 1898.
In the 20th century, the name Wilford was further popularized by Wilford Brimley, an American actor known for his roles in films such as "Cocoon" and "The Firm." He was born in 1934 and passed away in 2020.
Another notable Wilford was Wilford Lewin, a Jamaican-born British actor and singer who appeared in numerous television shows and films, including "Doctor Who" and "The Prisoner." He was born in 1929 and died in 1988.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Wilford
People
Wilford + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wilford 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
Wilford: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wilford?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,349 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wilford 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 102,345 US residents.
Is Wilford a common name?
We classify Wilford as "Rare". It ranks above 95.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,438 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wilford most popular?
The single biggest year for Wilford was 1926, when 276 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wilford is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wilford a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wilford 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.