Wilfred
Masculine · “desiring peace”
Wilfred is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 29,417 boys against 103 girls since 1880.
Wilfred is Old English and means what its two halves say: desire and peace. It belonged to a seventh-century bishop who argued Northumbria into line with Rome, and it has been in and out of use ever since.
How old is the name Wilfred?
Wilfred was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Wilfred alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 9,100 people named Wilfred are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Wilfred most popular?
Wilfred peaked in 1917, reaching #164 nationally. Today it ranks #3757, 3,593 places below that high. See the whole 1917 chart.
Where it comes from
From Wilfrith to Wilfred
The story of Wilfred
Wilfrid of York was one of the more combative churchmen of the seventh century: he spoke for the Roman calculation of Easter at the Synod of Whitby, spent much of his life in disputes with kings and other bishops, and was made a saint anyway. His cult kept the name alive through the Middle Ages. Like most Anglo-Saxon names it faded after the Norman conquest and returned with the Victorian revival of everything Old English.
Meaning
desiring peace
From Old English wil, 'will' or 'desire', and frith, 'peace'. Compound names of this type were the ordinary pattern in Anglo-Saxon England, and both halves are well attested.
How the name formed
- Wilfrith
- Wilfrid
- Wilfred
Related forms: Wilfried · Wilfrid · Wilfredo
Pronouncing Wilfred
WIL-fred
Two syllables, stress on the first. The variant spelling Wilfrid is said identically.
Nicknames for Wilfred
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
- 1927742 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #164reached in 1917
- Change vs 2022
- +20.8%29 in 2025, from 24
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.
Wilfred in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Wilfried in German — same name
- Wilfrid in French — spelling variant
- Wilfredo in Spanish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Texas, Florida.
Wilfreds among us
people named Wilfred are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 58,899 born in 2025 was named Wilfred
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
Wilfred 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 Wilfred is headed
Wilfred 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.
Wilfred beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Wilfred in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three separate short forms — Wilf, Will, Fred — with quite different characters.
- A documented Old English compound where both elements still make sense in modern English.
- Wilfredo carries it fully into Spanish, which few Anglo-Saxon names manage.
- Wilfred and Wilfrid are both correct and both used, so the spelling will need repeating.
- It reads as distinctly old-fashioned in English, though that is now closer to an advantage than it was a generation ago.
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What they receive
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Wilfred
Masculine · #3757 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Wilfreds are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 9,100 people named Wilfred are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Wilfred in 2025?
- Wilfred ranks #3757 among US boy names in 2025, with 29 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Wilfred?
- About 1 in every 58,899 US boys born in 2025 was named Wilfred — 29 in all.
- Will my child share the name Wilfred with classmates?
- Wilfred will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Wilfred
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Reymundo#3757 · Greer#3757 · Zaven#3757 · Kelson#3757 · Javin#3757 · Faizan#3757 · Shakur#3757 · Stanton#3757
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Wilfred? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Wilfred and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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