Fred

Fred: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “peaceful ruler”
Origin: Germanic
Say it: FRED · 1 syllable
Used for: Boys

Usually a short form of Frederick or Alfred. Frederick comes from Germanic elements meaning 'peace' and 'ruler'.

English names German names Names meaning peace Names meaning royalty Classic names Short names International names

How popular is Fred?

202430.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Fred in 202499

2024 rank#1,680 boys

Peak year1880

Total US babies since 1880345,605

Fred is steady now but far below its 1880 peak.

Names like Fred

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Frederickpeaceful ruler · Germanic
Freddypeaceful ruler · Germanic
Freddiepeaceful ruler · Germanic
Fredrickpeaceful ruler · Germanic
Federicopeaceful ruler · Germanic
Fredricpeaceful ruler · Germanic
Williamresolute protector · Germanic
Henryhome ruler · Germanic

Fred questions

What does the name Fred mean?

Fred means "peaceful ruler". It comes from Germanic. Usually a short form of Frederick or Alfred. Frederick comes from Germanic elements meaning 'peace' and 'ruler'.

Is Fred a boy or girl name?

Fred is mainly a boy's name in US records (99% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Fred?

99 US babies were named Fred in 2024. Its peak year was 1880.

How do you pronounce Fred?

Fred is usually pronounced FRED.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.