Wilmetta
A feminine name of Old German origin meaning "resolute protector".
Name Census estimates that about 13 living Americans carry the first name Wilmetta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Wilmetta today is around 85 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wilmetta births was 1918 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wilmetta. 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 Wilmetta is about 85 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Wilmettas were born before 1951.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wilmetta. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
13
~ 1 in 26,365,718 Americans
Peak year
1918
12 babies that year
Average age
85
years old
1946 SSA rank
#5,678
Tracked since 1912
Popularity
Wilmetta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wilmetta from the 1910s through to the 1940s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 62 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
Wilmetta 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 Wilmetta 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 Wilmetta
The name Wilmetta is thought to have originated from the Native American Potawatomi language, spoken by the Potawatomi people who inhabited areas around the Great Lakes in North America. It is believed to be derived from the Potawatomi words "wilmet" or "wilmetti," meaning "crooked stream" or "crooked creek." This suggests that the name may have been used to refer to a particular geographical location before being adopted as a personal name.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Wilmetta can be found in the late 19th century, when it was given to a village in Illinois, United States. The village of Wilmette, located on the shores of Lake Michigan, was incorporated in 1872 and likely took its name from the nearby Wilmetta Harbor, which itself may have been named after the Potawatomi word for the area.
In the early 20th century, the name Wilmetta began to gain popularity as a given name for girls, perhaps due to its association with the picturesque village of Wilmette. One of the earliest notable individuals to bear the name was Wilmetta Longfellow Schroeder (1892-1981), an American artist and author who was a descendant of the famous poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Another notable Wilmetta was Wilmetta Streeter (1907-1986), an American author and educator who wrote several children's books and worked as a teacher in New York City. Her most well-known work is the book "The Train to Everywhere," published in 1952.
In the field of music, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilmetta was Wilmetta Fayme (1904-1982), an American jazz singer and actress who performed in the 1920s and 1930s. She was known for her unique vocal style and appeared in several early sound films.
Moving to more recent times, Wilmetta Veldhuizen (1934-2019) was a Dutch-American artist and sculptor who was renowned for her large-scale public art installations. Her works can be found in various cities across the United States, including Chicago and Denver.
While the name Wilmetta may have originated from Native American roots, it has since transcended its geographical origins and become a unique and distinctive name in its own right. Despite its relative rarity, the name has been borne by individuals from various fields throughout history, each leaving their own mark on the world.
People
Wilmetta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wilmetta 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
Wilmetta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wilmetta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wilmetta 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 26,365,718 US residents.
Is Wilmetta a common name?
We classify Wilmetta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 33.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 162 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wilmetta most popular?
The single biggest year for Wilmetta was 1918, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wilmetta is about 85 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 Wilmetta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wilmetta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wilmetta 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 Wilmetta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wilmetta 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 Wilmetta 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 common is the name Wilmetta?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Wilmetta, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.