Baldwin
Masculine · “Bold friend”
Baldwin is an old Germanic name, 'bold friend', carried by crusader kings of Jerusalem and by a New England apple. It has two solid syllables and the weight of a name that has been in use for a thousand years.
How old is the name Baldwin?
Baldwin was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Baldwin alive today was born around 1965, making them about 60 years old. About 400 people named Baldwin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Baldwin most popular?
Baldwin peaked in 1880, reaching #909 nationally. See the whole 1880 chart.
Where it comes from
From Baldawin to Baldwin
The story of Baldwin
Baldwin was a name of the counts of Flanders and passed to the crusader kings of Jerusalem. Baldwin IV came to the throne at thirteen already suffering from leprosy, and in 1177, at sixteen, he led a small army that defeated Saladin at Montgisard; he died before he was twenty-four. In Massachusetts in the late eighteenth century the engineer Loammi Baldwin, surveying the route of the Middlesex Canal, came upon a fine apple tree near Wilmington and propagated it, and the Baldwin became the leading apple of New England for a century. The surname Baldwin, carried by families including the writer James Baldwin, gave the first name its American feel.
Meaning
Bold friend
From the Germanic elements bald, 'bold', and wine, 'friend'.
How the name formed
- Baldawin
- Baudouin
- Baldwin
Related forms: Baudouin · Boudewijn · Baldovino · Balduino
Pronouncing Baldwin
BAWLD-win
Two syllables, stress on the first.
Nicknames for Baldwin
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 196513 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #909reached in 1880
- Change vs 2021
- −40.0%6 in 2023, from 10
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Baldwin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Baudouin in French — same name
- Boudewijn in Dutch — same name
- Baldovino in Italian — same name
- Balduino in Spanish — same name
Baldwins among us
people named Baldwin are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Baldwin sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- A settled, easily explained meaning: bold friend.
- A long European history with forms in many languages.
- Rare as a first name, so a Baldwin is unlikely to meet another.
- The first syllable is the word 'bald', and children will notice.
- As a surname-first name it will sometimes be taken for a last name.
- Many people will think of the acting Baldwin brothers first.
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Baldwin
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Baldwins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Baldwin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Baldwin in 2025?
- Baldwin is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Baldwin with classmates?
- Baldwin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More B names
The most-given names starting with B, all years combined.
Brian#339 · Benjamin#11 · Brandon#261 · Bryan#336 · Bruce#536 · Billy#1068 · Bobby#1097 · Bradley#403
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Baldwin? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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