Windle
A masculine name of English origin meaning "a winding path or lane".
Name Census estimates that about 153 living Americans carry the first name Windle. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Windle today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Windle births was 1941 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Windle. 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 Windle is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Windles were born before 1959.
People living today
153
~ 1 in 2,240,224 Americans
Peak year
1941
21 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1976 SSA rank
#6,482
Tracked since 1916
Census
Windle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 213 people with the first name Windle, which placed it at #36,939 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
#36,939
National first-name rank
People counted
213
213 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Windle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Windle is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Windle 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 Windle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.1% · 177
- Black or African American13.1% · 28
- Two or more races2.8% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Windle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Windle from the 1910s through to the 1970s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 129 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
Windle 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 Windle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Windles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama recorded the most babies named Windle, while Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Windle
The given name Windle has its origins traced back to the Old English language, derived from the ancient Germanic root "wind" or "winding," which referred to a winding path or meandering river. This name emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, spanning approximately the 5th to 11th centuries AD.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Windle can be found in various historical documents from medieval England. One notable mention is in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of land holdings and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears several times, indicating its usage among the local population during the Norman conquest.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Windle. One of the earliest was Windle de Wodeham, a 13th-century English philosopher and logician. He was born around 1230 and is remembered for his contributions to the field of logic and his influential treatises on the subject.
In the 15th century, Windle Gough, an English landowner and prominent figure in the county of Lancashire, played a significant role in local affairs. He was born around 1420 and left a notable legacy through his involvement in various land disputes and legal proceedings.
During the 16th century, Windle Shutt, a renowned English clockmaker, gained recognition for his intricate and precise timepieces. Born in 1550, he was based in London and his clocks were highly sought after by the nobility and affluent classes of the time.
In the 18th century, Windle Wilkins, an English artist and engraver, made a name for himself with his intricate and detailed etchings and engravings. He was born in 1720 and his works were highly regarded for their artistic merit and technical proficiency.
Another notable figure was Windle Stratton, a 19th-century English author and playwright. Born in 1845, he wrote several successful plays and novels that were popular during the Victorian era, and his works often explored themes of morality and social commentary.
While the name Windle has its roots in ancient times, it has maintained a presence throughout various periods in history, carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions. The enduring legacy of this name serves as a testament to its rich historical and linguistic origins.
People
Windle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Windle 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
Windle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Windle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 153 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Windle 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 Windle a common name?
We classify Windle 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, 413 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Windle most popular?
The single biggest year for Windle was 1941, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Windle 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 Windle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 213 people with the name Windle, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,939 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 Windle 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 Windle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Windle leans strongly male. 202 people counted with this name were male (92.7%), compared with 16 female bearers (7.3%). 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 Windle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Windle is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Windle most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Windle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.1% (177 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 Windle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Windle a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Windle 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 Windle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Windle 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 Windle 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 called Windle?
You can see how many Americans are named Windle on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.