Wilnelia
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a combination of Germanic elements.
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Wilnelia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Wilnelia today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wilnelia births was 1982 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wilnelia. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wilnelia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1982
7 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1982 SSA rank
#9,219
Tracked since 1982
Census
Wilnelia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 187 people with the first name Wilnelia, which placed it at #40,012 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#40,012
National first-name rank
People counted
187
187 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wilnelia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wilnelia is Hispanic at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Black (1.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Wilnelia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Wilnelia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.9% · 183
- Black or African American1.1% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
- Two or more races0.5% · 1
Popularity
Wilnelia: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Wilnelia 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 Wilnelia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Geography
Where Wilnelias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Wilnelia
The name Wilnelia is believed to have originated in the early 20th century, possibly as a combination of the English names Wilma and Nelia. While its exact origins are unclear, it appears to be a relatively modern name without a long history or specific cultural roots.
The first recorded instance of the name Wilnelia can be found in birth records from the 1920s in the United States. It is possible that the name was created by combining elements from existing names to create a unique and distinctive moniker.
Throughout the 20th century, a handful of notable individuals have borne the name Wilnelia. One of the earliest recorded was Wilnelia Forsyth, an American author and poet who lived from 1905 to 1982. Her works included several collections of poetry and a memoir about her life in the American South.
Another notable Wilnelia was Wilnelia Merced, a Puerto Rican lawyer and activist who fought for civil rights and social justice causes in the mid-20th century. She was born in 1919 and played a significant role in the Puerto Rican independence movement.
In the field of music, Wilnelia Rivero was a Cuban singer and songwriter who gained popularity in the 1950s and 1960s with her performances of traditional Cuban folk music. She was born in 1923 and her recordings helped preserve and promote the rich cultural heritage of Cuba.
Moving into more recent times, Wilnelia González was a Venezuelan actress and television personality who appeared in numerous telenovelas and soap operas from the 1980s to the 2000s. She was born in 1949 and became a familiar face to audiences across Latin America.
Finally, Wilnelia Camacho was a Guatemalan politician and human rights activist who served as a member of the Guatemalan Congress from 2004 to 2008. She was born in 1958 and worked tirelessly to promote democracy and social justice in her country.
While the name Wilnelia may be relatively uncommon and without a long historical pedigree, these individuals have helped to establish it as a unique and distinctive name with a presence in various fields and cultures throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries.
People
Wilnelia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wilnelia 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
Wilnelia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wilnelia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wilnelia 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Wilnelia a common name?
We classify Wilnelia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wilnelia most popular?
The single biggest year for Wilnelia was 1982, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wilnelia is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Wilnelia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 187 people with the name Wilnelia, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,012 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Wilnelia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Wilnelia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wilnelia appears almost entirely female. Of the 184 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Wilnelia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wilnelia is Hispanic at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Black (1.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Wilnelia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Wilnelia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.9% (183 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Wilnelia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wilnelia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wilnelia 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 Wilnelia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wilnelia 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 Wilnelia 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.
How many people share the name Wilnelia?
You can see how many people have the name Wilnelia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.