Fred
Masculine · “peaceful ruler”
Fred is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 343,655 boys against 2,029 girls since 1880. See Fred as a girl name
The Fred in Alfred is not the same word as the Fred in Frederick. One is the Germanic element meaning peace; the other is an English word meaning counsel or advice, and the two only look alike because English wore both of them down to the same three letters. The short form joins names that were never related.
How old is the name Fred?
Fred was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Fred alive today was born around 1933, making them about 92 years old. About 103,000 people named Fred are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Fred most popular?
Fred peaked in 1885, reaching #14 nationally. Today it ranks #1932, 1,918 places below that high. See the whole 1885 chart.
Where it comes from
From Frithuric to Fred
The story of Fred
The longer of the two names is not old in England. It was a German royal name, carried by Holy Roman emperors and Prussian kings, and it barely appears in English records before the eighteenth century — when a German dynasty took the British throne and brought its family names with it. The first Hanoverian prince to carry it was heir apparent, quarreled with his father spectacularly, and died before he could inherit, but the name had arrived by then and stayed. So a name that sounds thoroughly English is a fairly recent German import, and its whole English career dates from one royal marriage.
Meaningscholars disagree
peaceful ruler, or counsel from the elves
The reading depends entirely on which name the short form was cut from, and they mean quite different things. Neither can be assumed and both are common, which makes this one of the few short forms that genuinely cannot be translated.
How the name formed
- Frithuric
- Frederick
- Fred
Related forms: Fritz · Frits
Pronouncing Fred
FRED
One syllable. There is nothing ambiguous about it and no reading of the spelling that could go wrong.
Nicknames for Fred
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
- 19246,532 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #14reached in 1885
- Change vs 2022
- −3.6%80 in 2025, from 83
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.
Fred in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Fritz in German — related form
- Frits in Dutch — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Freds among us
people named Fred are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 21,351 born in 2025 was named Fred
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Fred has held the top-100 across 8 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Fred is headed
Fred should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Fred beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Fred in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable, four letters, and instantly said by anyone.
- It has been in continuous American use for the entire length of the record.
- It reads as plain and friendly rather than formal.
- It reads as a short form to many people even when it is the legal name.
- Its peak was very early and the name carries that age for some ears.
- The record holds girls as well, and the girl is much the smaller side.
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What they receive
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Fred
Masculine · #1932 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Freds are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 103,000 people named Fred are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Fred in 2025?
- Fred ranks #1932 among US boy names in 2025, with 80 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Fred?
- About 1 in every 21,351 US boys born in 2025 was named Fred — 80 in all.
- Will my child share the name Fred with classmates?
- Fred will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Fred
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kolbe#1932 · Zaidyn#1932 · Jacques#1932 · Aj#1932 · Cristofer#1932 · Colston#1932 · Irvin#1932 · Cosmo#1932
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Fred? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Fred and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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