2000
#1,067
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,023
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.13
Uncommon Last name
Wilder
From an English surname meaning "untamed" or "wild", or referring to a wild animal trapper or hunter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 33,842 Americans carry the last name Wilder. That puts it at #1,170 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,128 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wilder surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Wilder with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
34K
1 in 10,128
Census rank
#1,170
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
9.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
30K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 29,512 bearers of the surname Wilder in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1170th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilder, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.4%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wilder
The surname Wilder is of German origin, derived from the Old High German word "wildi," meaning "wild" or "untamed." It was likely initially used as a descriptive name for someone who lived in a remote or untamed area, or perhaps had a wild or unruly demeanor.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johannes Wilder, a farmer from the village of Wittenberge in Brandenburg, mentioned in a land deed from 1274.
In England, the name Wilder is thought to have been introduced by German immigrants in the 16th and 17th centuries. The first recorded instance of the name in England is found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, where a Thomas Wilder was christened in 1587.
Notable historical figures with the surname Wilder include Benton Wilder (1815-1910), an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the American Baptist Home Mission Society. Another prominent bearer of the name was Thornton Wilder (1897-1975), the acclaimed American playwright and novelist who won three Pulitzer Prizes for his works, including "Our Town" and "The Bridge of San Luis Rey."
In the realm of literature, Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) was the author of the beloved "Little House on the Prairie" series of children's books, which chronicled her family's life on the American frontier in the late 19th century.
The name Wilder has also been associated with places, such as Wilder, Idaho, a city named after Marshall P. Wilder, a prominent businessman and financier in the late 19th century. Additionally, the Wilder Ranch State Park in California is named after Wilbur F. Wilder, a 19th-century dairyman and rancher who once owned the land.
Another notable figure was William Wilder (1611-1679), an English politician and Member of Parliament during the English Civil War, who played a significant role in the trial and execution of King Charles I in 1649.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wilder
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilder, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.4%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Wilder bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Wilder surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.6% · 19,361
- Black or African American25.4% · 7,508
- Two or more races4.6% · 1,356
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 919
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 191
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 177
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wilder
Wilder appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,131
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,018
+995 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 10.52
Rank movement Down 64 places
2020
#1,170
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,512
-1,506 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 9.87
Rank movement Down 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,067 | 30,023 | 11.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,131 | 31,018 | 10.52 | +995 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 64 places |
| 2020 | #1,170 | 29,512 | 9.87 | -1,506 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 39 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Wilder surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,131 | #1,170 | -3.4% |
| Count | 31,018 | 29,512 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 10.52 | 9.87 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wilder bearers went from 31,018 to 29,512 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,131 to #1,170.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Wilder
FAQ
Wilder surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wilder?
Name Census estimates that about 33,842 living Americans carry the surname Wilder. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,128 residents.
How common is Wilder?
Wilder ranks #1,170 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 29,512 people with the surname Wilder. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (33,842), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Wilder.
Has Wilder become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wilder went from 31,018 recorded bearers to 29,512. That is a decrease of 1,506 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,131 to #1,170.
What does the Census say about the background of Wilder?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilder, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.4%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Wilder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.6% (19,361 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wilder appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.6%), Black (25.4%), Two or More Races (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Wilder (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Wilder mean?
From an English surname meaning "untamed" or "wild", or referring to a wild animal trapper or hunter. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Wilder (9.87 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Wilder?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Wilder, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.