Wilhelmenia
A feminine variant of the German name Wilhelm, meaning "resolute protector."
Name Census estimates that about 351 living Americans carry the first name Wilhelmenia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Wilhelmenia today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wilhelmenia births was 1944 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wilhelmenia. 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 Wilhelmenia is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Wilhelmenias were born before 1959.
People living today
351
~ 1 in 976,508 Americans
Peak year
1944
38 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1967 SSA rank
#6,030
Tracked since 1905
Census
Wilhelmenia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 425 people with the first name Wilhelmenia, which placed it at #23,136 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
#23,136
National first-name rank
People counted
425
425 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wilhelmenia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wilhelmenia is Black at 91.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Wilhelmenia 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 Wilhelmenia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.5% · 389
- White4.7% · 20
- Two or more races2.1% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Wilhelmenia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wilhelmenia from the 1900s through to the 1960s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 300 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wilhelmenia 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 Wilhelmenia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wilhelmenias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida recorded the most babies named Wilhelmenia, while Virginia, Georgia, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 102 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wilhelmenia
Wilhelmenia is a feminine given name with Germanic origins, derived from the Old High German name Willahelm, which is a compound of two elements: "wil" meaning "will" or "desire," and "helm" meaning "helmet" or "protection." The name gained prominence during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions of modern-day Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria.
The name Wilhelmenia can be traced back to the 9th century, when it first appeared in historical records as a variant spelling of the more common Wilhelmina. One of the earliest recorded instances was in the Annals of Fulda, a medieval chronicle documenting events in the East Frankish kingdom during the 9th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Wilhelmenia. One of the most famous was Wilhelmenia of Bayreuth (1709-1758), a German princess and writer known for her memoirs detailing the court life of her era. Another prominent Wilhelmenia was Wilhelmenia Fernandez (1789-1857), a Cuban poet and activist who played a significant role in the struggle for Cuban independence from Spanish rule.
In the 19th century, Wilhelmenia Drucker (1847-1924) was a Dutch painter and feminist, renowned for her portraits and landscapes. She was also an active advocate for women's rights and a founding member of the Dutch Women's Rights Movement. Another notable figure was Wilhelmenia Barton-Baker (1856-1931), an American educator and civil rights activist who worked tirelessly to promote equal educational opportunities for African American students.
In more recent times, Wilhelmenia Rhodes Kelly (1916-2005) was an American politician and civil rights leader who served as the first African American woman elected to the Yale University Corporation, the governing body of Yale University. She was also a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement, working alongside leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.
While the name Wilhelmenia has seen a decline in popularity in recent decades, its historical significance and rich cultural heritage continue to make it a unique and meaningful choice for parents seeking a name with a strong Germanic heritage and a connection to notable figures throughout history.
People
Wilhelmenia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wilhelmenia 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
Wilhelmenia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wilhelmenia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 351 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wilhelmenia 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 976,508 US residents.
Is Wilhelmenia a common name?
We classify Wilhelmenia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,125 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wilhelmenia most popular?
The single biggest year for Wilhelmenia was 1944, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wilhelmenia is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Wilhelmenia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 425 people with the name Wilhelmenia, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,136 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 Wilhelmenia 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 Wilhelmenia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wilhelmenia appears almost entirely female. Of the 425 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 Wilhelmenia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wilhelmenia is Black at 91.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Wilhelmenia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Wilhelmenia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (389 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 Wilhelmenia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wilhelmenia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wilhelmenia 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 Wilhelmenia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wilhelmenia 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 Wilhelmenia 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 Wilhelmenia as a first name?
You can see how many people have the name Wilhelmenia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.