Wilfred

Wilfred: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “desires peace”
Origin: Old English
Say it: WIL-fred · 2 syllables
Used for: Boys

From Old English elements wil 'will, desire' and friþ 'peace'. A traditional English masculine name borne by several saints and writers.

English names Names meaning peace Classic names Vintage names

How popular is Wilfred?

20246.0 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 Wilfred in 202420

2024 rank#4,870 boys

Peak year1917

Total US babies since 188029,491

Wilfred is steady now but far below its 1917 peak.

Names like Wilfred

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Wilfredodesires peace · Germanic
Wesleywestern meadow · Old English
Westonwestern settlement · Old English
Blakeblack; pale · Old English
Edwardwealthy guardian · Old English
Ashtonash tree town · Old English
Kingstonking's town · Old English
Brandonbroom-covered hill · Old English

Wilfred questions

What does the name Wilfred mean?

Wilfred means "desires peace". It comes from Old English. From Old English elements wil 'will, desire' and friþ 'peace'. A traditional English masculine name borne by several saints and writers.

Is Wilfred a boy or girl name?

Wilfred is mainly a boy's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Wilfred?

20 US babies were named Wilfred in 2024. Its peak year was 1917.

How do you pronounce Wilfred?

Wilfred is usually pronounced WIL-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.