Wylde
Of Old English origin, an unconventional spelling of "wild" suggesting untamed or uncivilized.
Name Census estimates that about 99 living Americans carry the first name Wylde. It is a predominantly male name (95.0% of registrations). The average person named Wylde today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wylde births was 2022 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wylde. 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 Wylde. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
99
~ 1 in 3,462,165 Americans
Peak year
2022
19 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,417
Tracked since 2014
Gender
Gender distribution for Wylde
Wylde leans heavily male at 95.0% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Wylde as a male name
- Ranked #5,417 in 2024
- 18 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (18 births)
Wylde as a female name
- Ranked #17,615 in 2022
- 5 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2022 (5 births)
Popularity
Wylde: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wylde from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 72 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
Wylde 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 Wylde during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wyldes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Wylde
The name Wylde finds its origins in Old English, with its roots tracing back to the word "wilde," which meant "untamed" or "wild." This name likely emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, between the 5th and 11th centuries AD. It was initially used as a descriptive term for those who lived in the wilderness or displayed a free-spirited, untamed nature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wylde can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive record of landowners and tenants in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a landowner named Wylde in the county of Worcestershire.
During the Middle Ages, the name Wylde gained popularity among the English nobility and gentry. One notable figure was Sir John Wylde, a 15th-century knight and landowner from Shropshire, who served under King Henry VI during the Wars of the Roses.
In the 16th century, the name Wylde was associated with the English Renaissance playwright and poet, John Wylde, born in 1590. He is known for his contributions to the development of English drama, although his works have been largely lost over time.
Moving into the 17th century, we find Thomas Wylde, a prominent English explorer and navigator who embarked on several voyages to the West Indies and the Americas between 1620 and 1640. His detailed accounts of these expeditions provided valuable insights into the geography and cultures of the New World.
Another notable figure was William Wylde, a renowned English architect born in 1685. He was responsible for designing several landmark buildings in London, including the St. George's Church in Bloomsbury and the Radcliffe Observatory in Oxford.
In the 19th century, the name Wylde was associated with Irish writer and playwright Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), whose works, such as "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "The Importance of Being Earnest," have become literary classics. Although his surname was spelled differently, his fame and influence have undoubtedly contributed to the recognition of the name Wylde.
People
Wylde + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wylde 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
Wylde: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wylde?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 99 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wylde 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 3,462,165 US residents.
Is Wylde a common name?
We classify Wylde as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 100 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wylde most popular?
The single biggest year for Wylde was 2022, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wylde is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wylde a male name?
Yes, 95.0% of people registered as Wylde 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.
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.