Wilde
An Old German name meaning "untamed" or "ferocious".
Name Census estimates that about 153 living Americans carry the first name Wilde. It is a predominantly male name (92.2% of registrations). The average person named Wilde today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wilde births was 2020 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wilde. 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 Wilde with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
153
~ 1 in 2,240,224 Americans
Peak year
2020
32 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,204
Tracked since 2009
Census
Wilde in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 169 people with the first name Wilde, which placed it at #42,487 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
#42,487
National first-name rank
People counted
169
169 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wilde
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wilde is White at 51.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (40.2%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Wilde 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 Wilde at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.5% · 87
- Hispanic or Latino40.2% · 68
- Two or more races3.6% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 5
- Black or African American1.8% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Wilde
Wilde leans heavily male at 92.2% of total registrations, but 12 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Wilde as a male name
- Ranked #7,204 in 2024
- 12 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (26 births)
Wilde as a female name
- Ranked #15,099 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wilde leans strongly male. 145 people counted with this name were male (84.8%), compared with 26 female bearers (15.2%).
Popularity
Wilde: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wilde from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 103 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wilde 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 Wilde during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wildes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Wilde
The name Wilde is derived from the Old English word 'wilde', meaning 'wild' or 'untamed'. It was originally used as a descriptive nickname for someone who lived in a remote or uncultivated area, or who had an untamed personality or appearance.
Wilde has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th century. During this time, many personal names were based on physical or personality traits, occupations, or places of origin. The name Wilde likely emerged as a way to identify individuals with a particular characteristic or lifestyle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilde can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive land survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This suggests that the name was in use among the Anglo-Saxon population before the Norman Conquest of 1066.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Wilde appeared in various forms, such as Wylde, Wilde, and Wylde, reflecting the fluid spelling conventions of the time. It was not uncommon for names to be spelled differently, even within the same family or community.
In the 16th century, the English poet and actor William Wilde (c. 1590-1676) achieved some notoriety for his plays and literary works. He is believed to be one of the earliest notable individuals to bear the name Wilde.
Another prominent figure was Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), the renowned Irish playwright, novelist, and poet. His literary works, such as "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "The Importance of Being Earnest", have become classics of English literature. Wilde's flamboyant personality and unconventional lifestyle have made him an enduring cultural icon.
In the realm of science, the name Wilde is associated with the English physician and philosopher Jonathan Wilde (1616-1678). He was a prominent figure in the early days of the Royal Society and made significant contributions to the field of medicine.
The American writer and poet Percival Wilde (1887-1953) was a influential figure in the literary circles of the early 20th century. His works, including the poetry collection "Trelawny" and the novel "The Unspeakable Perk", explored themes of nature, spirituality, and human relationships.
In the world of sports, the British athlete and Olympic champion Jack Wilde (1920-2012) was a notable figure in the field of rowing. He won a gold medal in the coxless fours event at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.
People
Wilde + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wilde 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
Wilde: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wilde?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 153 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wilde 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 2,240,224 US residents.
Is Wilde a common name?
We classify Wilde as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 154 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wilde most popular?
The single biggest year for Wilde was 2020, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wilde is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Wilde in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 169 people with the name Wilde, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,487 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 Wilde 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 Wilde?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wilde leans strongly male. 145 people counted with this name were male (84.8%), compared with 26 female bearers (15.2%). 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 Wilde?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wilde is White at 51.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (40.2%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Wilde most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Wilde in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.5% (87 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 Wilde in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wilde a male name?
Yes, 92.2% of people registered as Wilde in the SSA data are male. 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 Wilde still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wilde 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 Wilde 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 Wilde as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Wilde on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.