Wilfred
Meaning
from Old English elements meaning desire or will and peace; also established as an English personal name in Hong Kong
Goes by Fred, Wilf
The story
Wilfred's roots and its Hong Kong life belong in the same story, but they are not the same thing. Wilfred comes from Old English elements commonly read as desire or will and peace. The name also has a long Hong Kong English life, including public bearers such as singer and actor Wilfred Lau. That use does not make the name etymologically Cantonese. It shows how a Hong Kong family may carry a character-based Chinese name and an English or international name for school, work, or life across languages. Its US curve belongs mostly to the early twentieth century and now sits low. A public bearer can make a name feel familiar without proving why any family chose it, so the cultural example and the chart should not be confused. That makes Wilfred both vintage in American data and fully contemporary when encountered in Hong Kong, two histories carried by the same spelling.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Wilfred peaked in the 1910s and the 1920s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
124 people · the #35,437 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 1,000,000 · median age 41
Among people named Wilfred 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 Wilfred
People given the name Wilfred in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 1989. 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 Wilfred deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Wilfred 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 Wilfred fits with your family’s names and surname.
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