Freida
A feminine name of Germanic origin meaning "peaceful ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 4,018 living Americans carry the first name Freida. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Freida today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Freida births was 1947 (224 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Freida. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Freida with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.0K
~ 1 in 85,305 Americans
Peak year
1947
224 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,694
Tracked since 1884
Census
Freida in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,960 people with the first name Freida, which placed it at #3,938 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,938
National first-name rank
People counted
5.0K
4,960 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Freida
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Freida is White at 76.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.5%) and Hispanic (3.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Freida described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Freida at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.0% · 3,770
- Black or African American14.5% · 718
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 188
- Two or more races2.4% · 119
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 98
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 67
Popularity
Freida: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Freida from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,839 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Freida by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Freida during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Freidas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 34 states and territories. New York, North Carolina, Texas recorded the most babies named Freida, while New Mexico, Connecticut, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 193 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Freida
The name Freida is derived from the Old German word "fridu," which means "peace." It has its roots in the Germanic languages and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The name was popular among the Germanic tribes during the 5th to 8th centuries AD.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Freida can be found in the Nibelungenlied, a medieval German epic poem dating back to around 1200 AD. In the poem, Freida is mentioned as a minor character, though her exact role is unclear.
During the Middle Ages, the name Freida was relatively common among the nobility and upper classes in Germanic regions, particularly in what is now Germany and Austria. It was often associated with ideals of peace, harmony, and tranquility.
One notable historical figure who bore the name Freida was Freida of Isenburg (c. 1285-1324), a German noblewoman and countess from the House of Isenburg-Büdingen. She was known for her involvement in various political and territorial disputes of the time.
Another prominent individual with the name Freida was Freida of Saxe-Lauenburg (1510-1585), a German princess and abbess who served as the Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg Abbey from 1554 to 1585. She played a significant role in the religious and cultural life of the abbey during the Reformation period.
In the 17th century, Freida Paulmann (1634-1703) was a German painter and illustrator known for her detailed botanical illustrations and still-life paintings. Her works were highly regarded during her lifetime and are now preserved in various art collections.
Moving into the 19th century, Freida Brion (1801-1865) was a German writer and feminist activist who advocated for women's rights and education. She published several works on these topics and was an influential figure in the early feminist movement in Germany.
One of the most famous individuals named Freida in more recent history was Freida Kahlo (1907-1954), the renowned Mexican artist known for her vibrant self-portraits and depictions of Mexican culture and identity. Her unique artistic style and personal life have made her an iconic figure in the art world.
While the name Freida was more commonly used in Germanic regions throughout history, its meaning and association with peace and harmony have given it a timeless quality that has allowed it to transcend cultural boundaries and continue to be used in various parts of the world.
People
Freida + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Freida as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Freida: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Freida?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,018 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Freida going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 85,305 US residents.
Is Freida a common name?
We classify Freida as "Rare". It ranks above 96% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,775 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Freida most popular?
The single biggest year for Freida was 1947, when 224 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Freida is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Freida in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,960 people with the name Freida, or 1.64 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,938 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Freida in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Freida?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Freida appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,956 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Freida?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Freida is White at 76.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.5%) and Hispanic (3.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Freida most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Freida in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.0% (3,770 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Freida in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Freida a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Freida in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Freida still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Freida in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Freida can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Freida as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Freida, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.