Waldo
Meaning
“From Old High German wald, to rule, as in Waldhari; familiar from Ralph Waldo Emerson and later Where's Waldo”
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Waldo peaked in the 1910s and the 1920s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
878 people · the #9,043 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 250,000 · median age 54
Among people named Waldo living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Waldo
People given the name Waldo in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Waldo deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Waldo truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Waldo fits with your family’s names and surname.
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