Wilfred

What Wilfred means

Means “will + peace”

The name of two early Anglo-Saxon saints Wilfriþ, from Old English wil (“will”) +‎ friþ (“peace”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Wilfred” (revision 89424007), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Wilfred?

US: Rising: up from #4295 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #184 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1917, when 772 boys got the name (#164 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 58,899 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 572 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 4,910 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

US vs UK

Wilfred is #3757 in the US and #113 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Wilfred were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Wilfrid0 US · 12 E&W
• Wilford9 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Wilfred

Boys

• Harold#991“army + ruler, authority”^*
• Alfred#840“elf + counsel”^*
• Edward#224“wealth, riches + ward, guard”^*
• Alvin#838“elf + friend”^*
• Edgar#486“rich + spear”^*
• Trey#883Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1999, with 1,798 babies; 269 in 2025

For a sister

• Holly#416“wood, clearing, meadow”^*
• Raven#404Editor’s note Up from #486 in 2015 to #404 in 2025 in the US
• April#542“the month of the goddess Venus”^*
• Amber#520“ambergris”^*
• Laurel#734Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1956, with 1,181 babies; 372 in 2025
• Angel#546Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2002, with 3,100 babies; 551 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under English, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Wilfred’s. Rank is US 2025.