Winifred
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Meaning
from Gwenfrewi, traditionally translated as 'blessed reconciliation'
Goes by Freda, Winnie. See all nicknames
The story
Winifred is the English form of the Welsh Gwenfrewi, traditionally translated as blessed reconciliation, carried by a seventh-century Welsh saint whose healing well at Holywell drew pilgrims for more than a thousand years. The US curve tells a perfect vintage story: solid from the 1890s through the 1920s, a long fade to near-dormancy by the 1960s, and then a genuine climb through the 2010s to a 2020s level that matches its founding decades, so its two peaks sit a century and a quarter apart. Winnie is the warm engine of the revival, and Freda keeps the old-school short form alive. A saint's name that waited out an entire century and came back smiling. Its second peak is revival rather than novelty, backed by generations of earlier American use.
How popular is Winifred around the world?
In the United States, 1,484 babies were named Winifred between 2020 and 2025. In England and Wales, 118 girls named Winifred were born in 2025, the 364th most common name among girls that year.
Winifred is on the official records of the United States, England and Wales, South Australia, Scotland, Canada, Austria and Spain.
United States
1 in 15,000
In the United States, 1,484 babies were named Winifred between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Winifred peaked in the 1890s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
England and Wales
1 in 5,000
In England and Wales, 118 girls named Winifred were born in 2025, the 364th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 3 girls were registered as Winifred in 2017.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 9,200
In Scotland, 5 girls named Winifred were registered in 2024, the 541st most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Canada
1 in 11,000
In Canada, 34 girls named Winifred were born in 2024, the 835th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Winifred was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Spain
1 in 1.9M
In Spain, 24 residents are named Winifred, ranked 27,329th among women, with a mean age of 54.5 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Ireland
last on record 2019
Winifred is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Montevideo City
last on record 1974
Winifred is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New Zealand
last on record 1956
Winifred is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on the record in Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
The Winifred deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Winifred 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 Winifred fits with your family’s names and surname.
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