The name Wilfredo is a masculine given name of Spanish origin, derived from the Germanic Wilfried or Wilfried. It is a compound name formed from the Old German elements "wil" meaning "will" or "desire", and "frid" meaning "peace". Together, the name can be interpreted to mean "desiring peace" or "willful peace".

The name Wilfredo has its roots in the medieval period, particularly in the territories of what is now modern-day Spain and Portugal. It is believed to have been introduced to the Iberian Peninsula during the Visigothic Kingdom, which ruled the region from the 5th to the 8th centuries. The Visigoths were a Germanic people who had adopted the name Wilfried from their ancestral culture.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilfredo can be found in the 9th century chronicles of the Kingdom of Asturias, where a nobleman named Wilfredo de León is mentioned as a companion of King Alfonso III. In the 11th century, a knight named Wilfredo de Almeida fought alongside El Cid during the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Wilfredo. One of the most famous was Wilfredo Lam, a Cuban artist and painter born in 1902, who is celebrated for his unique blend of Cubism and Afro-Cuban culture. Another prominent figure was Wilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist and sociologist born in 1848, best known for the Pareto principle and his contributions to the study of income distribution.

In the realm of literature, Wilfredo Masó was a Cuban poet and writer born in 1921, renowned for his works that explored themes of identity and cultural heritage. The name Wilfredo was also carried by Wilfredo Petit, a Venezuelan composer and conductor born in 1922, who made significant contributions to the development of classical music in his home country.

Lastly, Wilfredo Gómez was a Puerto Rican boxer born in 1956, who held multiple world championships in the super bantamweight division during the 1970s and 1980s, and is considered one of the greatest Puerto Rican boxers of all time.