Wilder
Masculine · “from the word "wild”
Wilder is given to both — 8,197 boys and 638 girls since 1880. See Wilder as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Wilder began as a surname on both sides of the North Sea — English families named for the untamed land at the edge of the settled fields, German and Swiss families named from the same root word. In the mouth it is one long open syllable and a soft landing: WILE-der, ending in the same unstressed -er that carries Parker, Fletcher and Cooper.
How old is the name Wilder?
Wilder first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Wilder is a kid of about 4 — this name's wave is very recent. About 8,000 people named Wilder are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Wilder most popular?
Wilder peaked in 2021, reaching #366 nationally. Today it ranks #429, 63 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Where it comes from
From wilde (Old English: wild, untamed) to Wilder
The story of Wilder
For most of its life Wilder was a family name, not a first name — English in one line, German and Swiss in another, both from the word wild. It traveled to North America with both groups and became a well-established American surname, familiar from the bindings of books before it was ever called out to a child. Its use as a given name follows the long American habit of promoting surnames to the front of the name, the same road walked by Parker, Sawyer and Harper. It appeared quietly in the US records generations before the wave that carries it now.
Meaningscholars disagree
from the word "wild" — either a dweller on wild, uncultivated land or "the wild one"
Two readings compete, and both lead back to the same root. English surname scholarship points to a topographic origin: someone who lived on or near untilled, uncleared ground. The German and Swiss surname Wilder is read instead as a nickname from the adjective wild, untamed. Neither has pushed the other out.
How the name formed
- wildeOld English: wild, untamed
- Wilde
- Wildersurname
- Wildergiven name
Related forms: Wilde · Wilder · Wild · Wylder
Pronouncing Wilder
WILE-der
Two syllables, stress on the first, rhyming with milder. English speakers read it correctly on sight because the word wilder is already in the language.
Nicknames for Wilder
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
- 1914
- Most boys named
- 2021890 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #366reached in 2021
- Change vs 2024
- −11.1%743 in 2025, from 836
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.
Wilder in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Wilde in English — related form
- Wilder in German — same name
- Wild in German — related form
- Wylder in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Tennessee.
Wilders among us
people named Wilder are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 2,299 born in 2025 was named Wilder
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Wilder
- #429
- Wilder on the 2025 chart
- #290
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Wilder went to 743 boys in 2025, but Wylder is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 1,150, which makes it the 290th most-given boys’ name of the year — 139 places above the chart.
- Wilder743
- Wylder407
About 1 boy in 1,485 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 2,299 for Wilder itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Mackenzie test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Wilder's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mackenzie climbed just as high around 1994, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mackenzie's path sketches the road Wilder is walking now.
Wilder 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.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Wilder is headed
Wilder should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Wilder beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Wilder in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled exactly like an everyday English word, so it rarely needs repeating or clarifying.
- Shortens cleanly to Will, a short form with centuries of use behind it.
- A documented surname in both English and German-speaking countries, so it reads as a name rather than an invention.
- Sits comfortably with the -er surname names already common in American classrooms.
- Rare enough that a child will likely be the only Wilder in the school, without the name being unrecognizable.
- It is the comparative form of wild, which invites the obvious joke — wilder than what? Most bearers meet that line early and stop noticing it.
- Its wave is very recent, so nearly everyone carrying it is a child. There are few adult Wilders to make the name feel age-neutral yet.
- The variant spelling Wylder is also in use, so expect to be asked which one you mean when giving it over the phone.
- American records list it as a boys' name almost without exception; a girl named Wilder would be doing something genuinely unusual, which some families want and some do not.
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What they receive
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Wilder
Masculine · #429 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Wilders are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 8,000 people named Wilder are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Wilder?
- Wilder is the most-used spelling in US records — 743 of the 1,150 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Wylder.
- How popular is the name Wilder in 2025?
- Wilder ranks #429 among US boy names in 2025, with 743 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Wilder?
- About 1 in every 2,299 US boys born in 2025 was named Wilder — 743 in all.
- Will my child share the name Wilder with classmates?
- Wilder will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Wilder
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Nehemiah#429 · Pablo#429 · Lian#428 · Tadeo#427 · Isaias#426 · Raiden#432 · Lucca#425 · Lewis#433
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Wilder? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Wilder and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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