Wilfred
Wilfred was given to 29 boys in 2025, #3,843 among boys’ names; 29,520 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 8,370 Americans named Wilfred and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (28% of everyone recorded); the median is 64 years old and half are between 47 and 76.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Wilfred by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Wilfred mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Wilfred is “a male given name from Old English, popular in the U.K. in the early twentieth century.” Its etymology gives the senses “will” (wil) and “peace” (friþ).
The name of two early Anglo-Saxon saints Wilfriþ, from Old English wil (“will”) + friþ (“peace”).
/ˈwɪlfɹɪd/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Wilfred?
#3,843 among boys’ names, 2025
Wilfred rose from #4,396 in 2015 to #3,843 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 12.0 to 17.0 per million.
811 babies in 1920, the peak
Wilfred peaked in 1920, when 811 babies were given it (802 boys, #176 among boys’ names). The 29 births of 2025 are 4% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 29 | #3,843 | 0.02 |
| 2024 | 21 | #4,873 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 29 | #3,870 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 24 | #4,430 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 39 | #3,117 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 27 | #3,911 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 25 | #4,218 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 28 | #3,879 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 23 | #4,455 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 33 | #3,437 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 23 | #4,396 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 28 | #3,779 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 30 | #3,575 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 18 | #5,233 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 23 | #4,341 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 31 | #3,522 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 21 | #4,738 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 33 | #3,413 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 32 | #3,439 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 29 | #3,595 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 31 | #3,310 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 40 | #2,690 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 31 | #3,110 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 44 | #2,367 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 40 | #2,484 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 42 | #2,325 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 30 | #2,857 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 60 | #1,715 | 0.03 |
| 1997 | 48 | #1,929 | 0.03 |
| 1996 | 37 | #2,248 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 42 | #2,020 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 62 | #1,525 | 0.03 |
| 1993 | 56 | #1,613 | 0.03 |
| 1992 | 65 | #1,423 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 84 | #1,209 | 0.04 |
| 1990 | 57 | #1,510 | 0.03 |
| 1989 | 83 | #1,167 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 70 | #1,218 | 0.04 |
| 1987 | 55 | #1,364 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 66 | #1,172 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 78 | #1,047 | 0.04 |
| 1984 | 96 | #899 | 0.05 |
| 1983 | 87 | #948 | 0.05 |
| 1982 | 111 | #844 | 0.06 |
| 1981 | 84 | #993 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 74 | #1,054 | 0.04 |
| 1979 | 102 | #863 | 0.06 |
| 1978 | 88 | #926 | 0.05 |
| 1977 | 93 | #881 | 0.06 |
| 1976 | 99 | #843 | 0.06 |
| 1975 | 76 | #944 | 0.05 |
| 1974 | 122 | #738 | 0.08 |
| 1973 | 83 | #878 | 0.05 |
| 1972 | 109 | #765 | 0.07 |
| 1971 | 146 | #687 | 0.08 |
| 1970 | 145 | #690 | 0.08 |
| 1969 | 146 | #655 | 0.08 |
| 1968 | 127 | #668 | 0.07 |
| 1967 | 143 | #630 | 0.08 |
| 1966 | 190 | #556 | 0.11 |
| 1965 | 198 | #546 | 0.11 |
| 1964 | 199 | #559 | 0.10 |
| 1963 | 233 | #523 | 0.11 |
| 1962 | 232 | #521 | 0.11 |
| 1961 | 237 | #518 | 0.11 |
| 1960 | 249 | #503 | 0.12 |
| 1959 | 266 | #478 | 0.12 |
| 1958 | 258 | #487 | 0.12 |
| 1957 | 301 | #442 | 0.14 |
| 1956 | 268 | #461 | 0.13 |
| 1955 | 283 | #437 | 0.14 |
| 1954 | 255 | #451 | 0.13 |
| 1953 | 294 | #406 | 0.15 |
| 1952 | 297 | #400 | 0.15 |
| 1951 | 306 | #385 | 0.16 |
| 1950 | 305 | #384 | 0.17 |
| 1949 | 316 | #378 | 0.18 |
| 1948 | 292 | #397 | 0.17 |
| 1947 | 322 | #383 | 0.18 |
| 1946 | 321 | #364 | 0.20 |
| 1945 | 293 | #349 | 0.22 |
| 1944 | 350 | #322 | 0.26 |
| 1943 | 395 | #313 | 0.28 |
| 1942 | 341 | #329 | 0.25 |
| 1941 | 308 | #330 | 0.25 |
| 1940 | 325 | #313 | 0.28 |
| 1939 | 369 | #288 | 0.33 |
| 1938 | 404 | #276 | 0.36 |
| 1937 | 397 | #274 | 0.37 |
| 1936 | 420 | #264 | 0.40 |
| 1935 | 409 | #271 | 0.39 |
| 1934 | 423 | #264 | 0.41 |
| 1933 | 432 | #251 | 0.44 |
| 1932 | 521 | #230 | 0.50 |
| 1931 | 514 | #230 | 0.49 |
| 1930 | 601 | #216 | 0.55 |
| 1929 | 612 | #209 | 0.57 |
| 1928 | 636 | #211 | 0.57 |
| 1927 | 742 | #194 | 0.66 |
| 1926 | 641 | #215 | 0.58 |
| 1925 | 737 | #188 | 0.66 |
| 1924 | 728 | #194 | 0.64 |
| 1923 | 779 | #179 | 0.71 |
| 1922 | 720 | #191 | 0.66 |
| 1921 | 737 | #189 | 0.67 |
| 1920 | 802 | #176 | 0.75 |
| 1919 | 695 | #184 | 0.71 |
| 1918 | 731 | #179 | 0.72 |
| 1917 | 772 | #164 | 0.83 |
| 1916 | 723 | #168 | 0.81 |
| 1915 | 626 | #181 | 0.74 |
| 1914 | 463 | #187 | 0.71 |
| 1913 | 384 | #180 | 0.75 |
| 1912 | 317 | #185 | 0.74 |
| 1911 | 168 | #183 | 0.74 |
| 1910 | 97 | #243 | 0.50 |
| 1909 | 91 | #230 | 0.55 |
| 1908 | 98 | #208 | 0.63 |
| 1907 | 93 | #208 | 0.63 |
| 1906 | 75 | #227 | 0.56 |
| 1905 | 75 | #222 | 0.57 |
| 1904 | 80 | #206 | 0.62 |
| 1903 | 64 | #229 | 0.54 |
| 1902 | 63 | #228 | 0.51 |
| 1901 | 47 | #253 | 0.44 |
| 1900 | 81 | #223 | 0.54 |
| 1899 | 52 | #233 | 0.49 |
| 1898 | 76 | #198 | 0.62 |
| 1897 | 46 | #261 | 0.41 |
| 1896 | 71 | #214 | 0.59 |
| 1895 | 41 | #278 | 0.35 |
| 1894 | 44 | #267 | 0.38 |
| 1893 | 50 | #252 | 0.45 |
| 1892 | 45 | #269 | 0.37 |
| 1891 | 40 | #256 | 0.40 |
| 1890 | 45 | #255 | 0.41 |
| 1889 | 37 | #280 | 0.33 |
| 1888 | 36 | #301 | 0.30 |
| 1887 | 31 | #305 | 0.31 |
| 1886 | 27 | #331 | 0.24 |
| 1885 | 37 | #276 | 0.34 |
| 1884 | 33 | #305 | 0.29 |
| 1883 | 42 | #258 | 0.40 |
| 1882 | 22 | #388 | 0.19 |
| 1881 | 22 | #359 | 0.22 |
| 1880 | 21 | #380 | 0.19 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Wilfred a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Wilfred has been given almost only to boys: 103 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Wilfred: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Wilfred, and how old are they?
8,370 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 28% of the 29,520 Americans ever recorded as Wilfred. The median Wilfred alive today is 64 years old; half are between 47 and 76.
The 2020 Census counted 11,337 people named Wilfred (29 women and girls, 11,308 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 10,102 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,280 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 3,400 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,700 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,070 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 543 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 356 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Wilfred born?
The states with the most babies named Wilfred are New York, Massachusetts and Louisiana, with 32% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Massachusetts and Louisiana are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 2,689 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Massachusetts | 2,516 | not ranked | 2.7× |
| Louisiana | 2,265 | not ranked | 4.0× |
| Michigan | 1,265 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| California | 993 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 963 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Illinois | 904 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Minnesota | 902 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Texas | 858 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Ohio | 749 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where Wilfred is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Wilfred is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1910 it was given 5.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Wilfred with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 41,867 babies since 1880, Wilfred is the most given (71% of them). In 2025 it was given to 29 of their 38 babies (76%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Wilfred
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Wilfred and names like it
- Compare Wilfred and WilfordBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sWilfred peaked in 1920.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Wilfred since 1910.
- Old English namesWiktionary’s origin for Wilfred: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1920The year the most babies were named Wilfred.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Wilfred alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with WMost given first.