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Winnifred

Feminine · “blessed reconciliation”

1880high 1918
#2514 in the U.S.given to only a few children a year
rare70 girls in 2025

Winifred is the Welsh Gwenfrewi reshaped by English ears — blessed reconciliation — and her legend has her head cut off and put back.

How old is the name Winnifred?

Winnifred was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Winnifred alive today was born around 1923, making them about 102 years old. About 1,400 people named Winnifred are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Winnifred most popular?

Winnifred peaked in 1888, reaching #413 nationally. Today it ranks #2514, 2,101 places below that high. See the whole 1888 chart.

Compare this nameMore “W” names

Lists built from the same records:

I

Where it comes from

The story of Winnifred

Gwenfrewi's legend has a suitor behead her when she refuses him, and her uncle Saint Beuno restore her; a spring rose where her head fell, and the well at Holywell has been a pilgrimage site ever since — the oldest continuously visited in Britain. Winnifred is a modern spelling and is in current American use.

Meaningscholars disagree

blessed reconciliation; white and peace

From the Welsh Gwenfrewi — gwen, 'white' or 'blessed', and a second element variously given. English speakers reshaped it toward the Old English wynn, 'joy', and frid, 'peace'. Both routes are attested; the Welsh original is the source.

How the name formed

  1. Gwenfrewi
  2. Winifred
  3. Winnifred

Related forms: Gwenfrewi · Winifred

Pronouncing Winnifred

WIN-ih-fred

Three syllables, stress on the first. Welsh Gwenfrewi is gwen-FREH-wee.

Nicknames for Winnifred

Moderate

WinnieThe front stretched, and a name in its own right with a real record
FredaTaken from the back, and a name of its own with a real record
II

What the data says

The long climb, and where it stands now

GIRLS NAMED · 1880–20251668301667018802025

US babies named Winnifred per year from 1880 to 2025
AVERAGE RANK BY DECADE#1#10#100#1000#4131880s2020s

The same years in position rather than babies

First recorded
1880
Most girls named
1918166 — the highest on record
Peak rank
#413reached in 1888
Change vs 2023
+12.9%70 in 2025, from 62
Winnifred sits in the rare tail. Its best year on record was 1918, with 166 girls. 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.

Winnifred in other languages

The same name elsewhere

  • Gwenfrewi in Welsh — related form
  • Winifred in English — spelling variant

Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Michigan.

Winnifreds among us

1,400

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

About 1 girl in 22,961 born in 2025 was named Winnifred

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

Spellings of Winnifred

#2514
Winnifred on the 2025 chart
#628
counting every spelling

The SSA counts spellings, not names. Winnifred went to 70 girls in 2025, but Winifred is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 354, which makes it the 628th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,886 places above the chart.

About 1 girl in 4,540 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 22,961 for Winnifred 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

III

Is it right for you

Fashion outlook

Winnifred 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 Winnifred will feel “very 2020s” 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

Where Winnifred is headed

18802030

US babies named Winnifred per year, 1880 to 2025, with a projection to 2030

Winnifred should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.

Steady+14% by 2030projected around #2,387 in 2030

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.

Winnifred beside its neighbors

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

Winnifredthis name70#2514Syeda70#2514Gracyn70#2514Imogene70#2514Orla70#2514

US girls given each name in 2025.

The trade-off

Practical strengths
  • That Holywell is the oldest continuously visited pilgrimage site in Britain is a first-rate fact.
  • Winnie and Freda are two short forms, both with real records.
  • The blessed reading is strong where it holds.
What to consider
  • Winifred with one n is the standard spelling.
  • The Welsh original is unrecognizable from the English.
  • It is period-coded to earlier generations.

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Winnifred

Feminine · #2514 in the U.S.

♥ Love itNot for meLet’s talk about it
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Frequently asked

How many Winnifreds are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Winnifred are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How do you spell Winnifred?
Winnifred is one of 2 recorded spellings. Winifred is the more common one — 284 births in 2025 against 70 for Winnifred.
How popular is the name Winnifred in 2025?
Winnifred ranks #2514 among US girl names in 2025, with 70 babies given the name.
How rare is the name Winnifred?
About 1 in every 22,961 US girls born in 2025 was named Winnifred — 70 in all.
Will my child share the name Winnifred with classmates?
Winnifred will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Ranked beside Winnifred

Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.

Syeda#2514 · Gracyn#2514 · Imogene#2514 · Orla#2514 · Annalisa#2514 · Nazareth#2514 · Susannah#2514 · Maysen#2514

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

Choosing between Winnifred and another name?

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

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