Wilfred: meaning and UK use

What does Wilfred mean?

Wilfred combines Old English elements connected with desire and peace. Wilfrid is a variant and Wilf is a short form.

Language or name family covered

Old English

Meaning or derivation

Desiring peace

Our browsing group

boy; vintage

Browsing groups describe our editorial shortlist, not rules about who may use a name. A name can cross languages and genders.

Sources for this entry — reviewed 2026-10-07:

• Behind the Name — Wilfred

Pronunciation and related forms

WIL-fruhd (English)

English respellings are approximate; IPA is labelled where used. Follow the pronunciation a person or family chooses, and check it with a speaker of the intended language if that connection matters to you.

Related forms recorded in the reference: Wilfrid, Wilf. These may be full forms, diminutives or forms in another language; they are not necessarily pronounced alike or counted together in statistics.

How popular is Wilfred?

In 2025, 475 baby boys in England and Wales were registered as Wilfred, making it the 113th most popular boys’ name. That is up 20 places on 2024, when it ranked 133rd. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it ranked 184th, so it has climbed 71 places in a decade. 2025 is its highest ranking in the ONS series, which starts in 1996. These figures cover England and Wales, not the whole UK.

2025 rank (boys)

113th

2025 registrations

475

Best rank in this series

113th (2025)

Every year from 1996 to 2025

Wilfred: rank and number of baby boys by year (ONS)

Year	Rank	Babies
2025	113	475
2024	133	408
2023	116	447
2022	137	400
2021	147	388
2020	145	384
2019	142	405
2018	146	383
2017	169	326
2016	183	306
2015	184	310
2014	235	234
2013	245	205
2012	293	157
2011	305	146
2010	358	116
2009	313	130
2008	358	107
2007	501	65
2006	536	55
2005	487	57
2004	470	56
2003	473	51
2002	671	29
2001	686	26
2000	691	26
1999	575	32
1998	780	20
1997	809	19
1996	976	14

The sum of published counts in this 1996–2025 boys series is 5,777. This is a lower bound where years are suppressed, not the number of living people with the name. A best rank is the best position within this series; it does not establish an all-time record.

Sources: ONS release, 2025; girls' dataset; boys' dataset. Our 20 top-ten positions were checked against Table 1 in the 2025 workbooks. The history chart and spelling comparisons come from the separate ONS 1996–2025 workbook, checked 7 October 2026. Spelling variants are separate entries. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate statistics.

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Names to compare with Wilfred

These suggestions share a browsing group and one or more of our style tags or source-context labels. They are taste comparisons, not etymological relatives or a popularity ranking.

• Albievintage · A short form of Albert
• Alfievintage · A short form of Alfred
• Archievintage · A short form of Archibald
• Arthurvintage · Meaning unknown
• Cianvintage · Ancient or enduring
• Ezravintage · Help

Read the UK naming guide for the difference between inspiration lists and official statistics, or return to the full name finder.

Registering or changing the name

Once you decide on Wilfred, confirm the registration process for your UK nation with the register office. If you later want to change a registered name, the route depends on the circumstances and may require consent from people with parental responsibility.

Start with GOV.UK birth registration or GOV.UK guidance on changing a child’s name. Our registration guide and child name-change guide explain where to find the relevant official process.