Wolfe
A unisex name of Germanic origin meaning "wolf" or "wolf spirit".
Name Census estimates that about 481 living Americans carry the first name Wolfe. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wolfe today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wolfe births was 2022 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wolfe. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Wolfe with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
481
~ 1 in 712,587 Americans
Peak year
2022
53 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,777
Tracked since 1994
Census
Wolfe in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 383 people with the first name Wolfe, which placed it at #24,935 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
#24,935
National first-name rank
People counted
383
383 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wolfe
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wolfe is White at 67.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.1%) and Two or More Races (9.7%). 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 Wolfe 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 Wolfe at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.4% · 258
- Hispanic or Latino15.1% · 58
- Two or more races9.7% · 37
- Black or African American4.7% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 4
Popularity
Wolfe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wolfe from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 232 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
Wolfe 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 Wolfe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wolfes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Florida, New York recorded the most babies named Wolfe, while New York, Florida, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wolfe
The name Wolfe is derived from the Old English word "wulf," which means "wolf." It has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon period and was initially used as a nickname or surname for someone who was considered fierce, brave, or possessed wolf-like qualities.
The earliest recorded use of Wolfe as a given name dates back to the 12th century. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Wolfe of Aalst, a Flemish merchant and crusader who lived in the late 12th century.
During the Middle Ages, the name Wolfe gained popularity among the nobility and aristocracy. It was often chosen for sons as a symbol of strength, courage, and leadership. One notable figure was Wolfe Tone, an Irish revolutionary and founding member of the United Irishmen, who lived from 1763 to 1798.
In the 16th century, the name Wolfe became associated with the Protestant Reformation. One of the most famous individuals with this name was John Wolfe, an English Protestant reformer and Bible translator, who lived from 1537 to 1594.
The name Wolfe also has a rich military history. Perhaps the most renowned figure is James Wolfe, the British Army officer who played a crucial role in the capture of Quebec during the Seven Years' War. He was born in 1727 and died in 1759 during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
Another notable figure with the name Wolfe was Thomas Wolfe, an American novelist and playwright known for his autobiographical works, such as "Look Homeward, Angel" and "Of Time and the River." He lived from 1900 to 1938 and is considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.
People
Wolfe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wolfe 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
Wolfe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wolfe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 481 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wolfe 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 712,587 US residents.
Is Wolfe a common name?
We classify Wolfe as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 485 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wolfe most popular?
The single biggest year for Wolfe was 2022, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wolfe is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Wolfe in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 383 people with the name Wolfe, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,935 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 Wolfe 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 Wolfe?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wolfe leans strongly male. 355 people counted with this name were male (94.7%), compared with 20 female bearers (5.3%). 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 Wolfe?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wolfe is White at 67.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.1%) and Two or More Races (9.7%). 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 Wolfe most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Wolfe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.4% (258 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 Wolfe in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wolfe a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wolfe 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 Wolfe still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wolfe 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 Wolfe 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 Americans are named Wolfe?
See how many people share the name Wolfe on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.