Wilda
A poetic variant name of English origin meaning "untamed, wild one".
Name Census estimates that about 2,567 living Americans carry the first name Wilda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Wilda today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wilda births was 1926 (411 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wilda. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Wilda is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Wildas were born before 1962.
People living today
2.6K
~ 1 in 133,523 Americans
Peak year
1926
411 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1938 SSA rank
#4,020
Tracked since 1880
Census
Wilda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,443 people with the first name Wilda, which placed it at #4,279 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
#4,279
National first-name rank
People counted
4.4K
4,443 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wilda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wilda is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.1%) and Hispanic (13.8%). 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 Wilda 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 Wilda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.7% · 2,962
- Black or African American15.1% · 670
- Hispanic or Latino13.8% · 615
- Two or more races2.2% · 98
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 63
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 35
Gender
Gender distribution for Wilda
Out of the 12,773 babies given the name Wilda since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Wilda as a male name
- Ranked #4,020 in 1938
- 5 male births in 1938
- Peak: 1917 (5 births)
Wilda as a female name
- Ranked #17,604 in 2022
- 5 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1926 (411 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wilda appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,440 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Wilda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wilda 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 3,643 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
Wilda 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 Wilda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wildas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 33 states and territories. West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio recorded the most babies named Wilda, while Wisconsin, New Jersey, Maine recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 278 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wilda
The name Wilda is believed to have originated from the Old Germanic language, likely during the 6th or 7th century. It is derived from the root words "wil" meaning desire or will, and "hart" meaning strong or hardy. The name Wilda was initially used as a feminine form of the masculine name Wilhart.
In ancient Germanic tribes, names often reflected the desired qualities or characteristics that parents wished for their children. Wilda was likely chosen to signify a strong-willed or determined nature, qualities that were highly valued in those times.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilda can be found in the Frankish Chronicles, a historical record of the Frankish people from the 6th to the 9th century. The chronicles mention a Wilda, daughter of a Frankish nobleman, who was known for her unwavering spirit and dedication to her family.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Wilda. One such person was Wilda of Guelders (1048-1094), a German noblewoman and abbess who founded the Benedictine convent of Marienburg in present-day Netherlands. Her life and work are documented in the chronicles of the time.
Another famous Wilda was Wilda of Saxony (1180-1244), a Duchess of Saxony and a renowned patron of the arts. She played a significant role in the cultural and intellectual life of her time, supporting poets, scholars, and artists.
In the 14th century, Wilda of Bohemia (1325-1399) was a Bohemian princess and the wife of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. She was known for her influential role in shaping the political and cultural landscape of the Holy Roman Empire during her husband's reign.
Wilda von Oldenburg (1534-1580) was a German noblewoman and the wife of Count Anton I of Oldenburg. She is remembered for her philanthropic efforts, particularly her support for the education of underprivileged children and the establishment of schools in her region.
Wilda Vinicio (1642-1712) was an Italian painter and engraver from Bologna. She was part of the Baroque art movement and is known for her religious paintings and portraits, which can be found in various churches and galleries across Italy.
While the name Wilda may not be as common today as it once was, it carries a rich historical legacy, reflecting the strength, determination, and cultural influence of those who have borne this name throughout the centuries.
People
Wilda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wilda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Wilda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wilda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,567 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wilda 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 133,523 US residents.
Is Wilda a common name?
We classify Wilda as "Rare". It ranks above 94.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12,773 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wilda most popular?
The single biggest year for Wilda was 1926, when 411 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wilda is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Wilda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,443 people with the name Wilda, or 1.47 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,279 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 Wilda 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 Wilda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wilda appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,440 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Wilda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wilda is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.1%) and Hispanic (13.8%). 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 Wilda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Wilda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.7% (2,962 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 Wilda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wilda a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Wilda 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 Wilda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wilda 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 Wilda 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 are named Wilda?
Find out how many Americans are named Wilda on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.