Wilhelminia
A feminine name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protection".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Wilhelminia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Wilhelminia today is around 80 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wilhelminia births was 1917 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wilhelminia. 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 Wilhelminia is about 80 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Wilhelminias were born before 1956.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wilhelminia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1917
7 babies that year
Average age
80
years old
1951 SSA rank
#6,197
Tracked since 1917
Popularity
Wilhelminia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wilhelminia from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 10 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
Wilhelminia 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 Wilhelminia 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 Wilhelminia
Wilhelminia is a feminine given name derived from the Germanic elements "wil" meaning "will or desire" and "helm" meaning "helmet or protection". Its origins can be traced back to the Old High German name Willahelm, which later evolved into Wilhelm, the masculine form of the name.
The name Wilhelminia gained popularity in the medieval period, particularly in regions where Germanic languages were spoken, such as Germany, the Netherlands, and parts of central Europe. It was often associated with nobility and royalty, as many princesses and queens bore this name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilhelminia can be found in the 13th century, when it was used by Wilhelminia of Saxe-Weimar, a German noblewoman who lived from 1226 to 1253. Another notable figure was Wilhelminia of Denmark, who was born in 1358 and became the Queen of Norway and Sweden through her marriage to King Haakon VI.
During the Renaissance period, the name Wilhelminia gained further prominence. Wilhelminia of Bavaria, born in 1490, was a German princess and the wife of Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria. In the 16th century, Wilhelminia of Prussia (1574-1620) was a notable figure, known for her patronage of the arts and her influence in the court of her husband, Elector Johann Sigismund of Brandenburg.
As the name spread across Europe, it was adopted by various royal and noble families. One of the most famous bearers of the name was Wilhelminia of Prussia (1751-1820), who became the Queen of the Netherlands and is remembered for her leadership during the Napoleonic Wars.
Other prominent figures with the name Wilhelminia include Wilhelminia of Hesse-Kassel (1726-1808), a German princess and the wife of King Frederick I of Sweden; Wilhelminia of Baden (1788-1836), a German princess and the wife of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Baden; and Wilhelminia of the Netherlands (1880-1962), the last Queen of the Netherlands, who reigned from 1890 to 1948.
People
Wilhelminia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wilhelminia 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
Wilhelminia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wilhelminia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wilhelminia 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 Wilhelminia a common name?
We classify Wilhelminia 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, 22 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wilhelminia most popular?
The single biggest year for Wilhelminia was 1917, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wilhelminia is about 80 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wilhelminia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wilhelminia 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.
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.