Wit
A diminutive form of the English word "wisdom".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Wit. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wit today is around 4 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wit births was 2022 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wit. 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 Wit. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2022
6 babies that year
Average age
4
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,248
Tracked since 2022
Popularity
Wit: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Wit 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 Wit during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Wit
The name Wit has its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the early medieval period. The word "wit" itself means "intelligence" or "mental capacity" in Old English, and it was likely used as a descriptive name for someone deemed wise or clever.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Wit can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, an important historical record from the 9th century. The Chronicle mentions a man named Wit who was a member of the court of King Alfred the Great (849-899), known for his efforts to revive learning and literacy in England.
In the 12th century, the name Wit appeared in the works of the renowned scholar and philosopher John of Salisbury (c. 1120-1180). He made reference to a contemporary figure named Wit, though little is known about this individual beyond the mention in John's writings.
During the 13th century, a notable bearer of the name Wit was Wit of Gloucester, an English monk and chronicler who authored the "Vita Wulfstani," a biography of Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester. This work provides valuable insights into the life and times of the late Anglo-Saxon period.
In the 15th century, the name Wit gained some prominence with the English philosopher and logician William of Ockham (c. 1287-1347), also known as William Ockham or William Occam. He was a influential figure in the scholastic tradition and is remembered for his principle of parsimony, often expressed as "Occam's Razor."
Another historical figure with the name Wit was Wit Stwosz (c. 1450-1533), a renowned German sculptor and woodcarver active in Nuremberg during the Renaissance. He is best known for his masterpiece, the intricate and highly detailed altarpiece in the Church of St. Mary in Kraków, Poland.
While the name Wit has its roots in Old English and was more commonly used in medieval and early modern times, it has become relatively rare in modern times, though it may still be encountered occasionally as a given name.
People
Wit + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wit 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
Wit: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wit?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wit 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 Wit a common name?
We classify Wit 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, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wit most popular?
The single biggest year for Wit was 2022, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wit is about 4 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 Wit in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wit a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wit 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.
Is Wit still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wit 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 Wit 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 many people are named Wit?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.