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Waldo

Masculine · “ruler”

Waldo is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 5,716 boys against 6 girls since 1880.

1880high 1917
#10695 in the U.S.given to only a few children a year
rare6 boys in 2025

Waldo is a Germanic name meaning ruler, and it belonged to Peter Waldo, whose twelfth-century movement was declared heretical and survived four hundred years of persecution.

How old is the name Waldo?

Waldo was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Waldo alive today was born around 1929, making them about 96 years old. About 1,500 people named Waldo are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Waldo most popular?

Waldo peaked in 1881, reaching #342 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 10,353 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.

Compare this nameMore “W” names

Lists built from the same records:

I

Where it comes from

The story of Waldo

Peter Waldo gave away his fortune around 1173 and began preaching in the vernacular; the Waldensians he founded were excommunicated and hunted for centuries before joining the Reformation. The name reached America through the Latinized surname, and Ralph Waldo Emerson gave it wide nineteenth-century visibility. It peaked around 1885.

Meaning

ruler, powerful

From the Germanic wald, 'rule' or 'power' — the element behind Oswald, Ronald and Harold. Waldo is a short form built directly on it. The element is ordinary Germanic and the meaning undisputed.

How the name formed

  1. wald
  2. Waldo

Related forms: Waldo · Waldo · Valdo

Pronouncing Waldo

WAL-doh

Two syllables, stress on the first. Spanish and German say it the same way.

Nicknames for Waldo

Moderate

WallyThe affectionate stretch, and a registered name in its own right
WaldThe bare stem, sharp and one-syllable
II

What the data says

The long climb, and where it stands now

BOYS NAMED · 1880–2025164820164618802025

US babies named Waldo per year from 1880 to 2025
AVERAGE RANK BY DECADE#1#10#100#1000#3421880s2020s

The same years in position rather than babies

First recorded
1880
Most boys named
1917164 — the highest on record
Peak rank
#342reached in 1881
Change vs 2019
−40.0%6 in 2025, from 10
Waldo sits in the rare tail. Its best year on record was 1917, with 164 boys. Today it is given to few enough children that it does not enter the ranked charts at all.

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.

Waldo in other languages

The same name elsewhere

  • Waldo in German — same name
  • Waldo in Spanish — same name
  • Valdo in Italian — related form

Waldos among us

1,500

people named Waldo are estimated to be alive in the US today

About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Waldo

Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method

III

Is it right for you

Fashion outlook

Waldo sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.

40%chance Waldo will feel dated by 2040
Ages quietlysteadyDates fast

A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored

Waldo beside its neighbors

The names ranked closest to Waldo in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.

Waldothis name6#10695Dudley6#10695Dell6#10695Buford6#10695Toney6#10695

US boys given each name in 2025.

The trade-off

Practical strengths
  • The ruler meaning is transparent and belongs to a well-documented Germanic family.
  • Two genuinely consequential figures carry it — a medieval reformer and an American philosopher.
  • Two firm syllables that carry well.
What to consider
  • A long-running children's picture-book series carries the name.
  • It reads as distinctly antique.
  • It is strongly period-coded to the nineteenth century.

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Waldo

Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.

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Frequently asked

How many Waldos are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Waldo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How popular is the name Waldo in 2025?
Waldo ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
How rare is the name Waldo?
About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Waldo — 6 in all.
Will my child share the name Waldo with classmates?
Waldo will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Ranked beside Waldo

Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.

Dudley#10695 · Dell#10695 · Buford#10695 · Toney#10695 · Allison#10695 · Candido#10695 · Jodie#10695 · Nora#10695

Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Waldo? See the current top 100.

Choosing between Waldo and another name?

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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology

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