Wilfred

Where Wilfred comes from

The name of two early Anglo-Saxon saints Wilfriþ, from Old English wil (“will”) + friþ (“peace”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Wilfred
  • Old English
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #373 among boys — 21 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1893
    Wilfred Owen born
    English poet and soldier
  3. 1917
    Peak, #164
    772 babies named Wilfred — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1939
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #287.
  5. 1996
    Wilfred Ndidi born
    Nigerian association football player
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Old English, popular in the U.K. in the early twentieth century.
Namesakes
  • Wilfred Owen · English poet and soldier, 1893–1918
  • Wilfred Ndidi · Nigerian association football player, born 1996
  • Wilfred Bouma · Dutch footballer, born 1978
  • Wilfred Bungei · Kenyan middle-distance runner, born 1980
  • Wilfred Thesiger · British explorer, military officer, writer and botanical collector, 1910–2003

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.