Fun Facts About the Name Wilder
- More than 8 thousand babies named Wilder: U.S. records list 8,828 babies given the name Wilder from 1880 through 2025. Even 638 girls received the name Wilder - about 1 girl for every 13 boys.
What Does the Name Wilder Mean?
Wilder is an English family name that has entered use as a given name, so its meaning comes from the surname's origins. The main English derivation is topographic: it comes from Old English wilde, "wild," plus dēor, "deer, animal," and described someone who lived near a wild deer pasture or managed wild game. A second English derivation is a nickname, from Middle English wild, "wild, unruly," applied to a person of untamed or headstrong character. These two English explanations are not mutually exclusive, and surname references do not always agree on which was more common. A separate German origin treats Wilder as a variant of the surname Wild, likewise a nickname for a wild or fierce person; this derivation applies only to families of German background, not to the English name.
Wilder Name History & Origins
The name began as a surname in medieval England, where the suffix -er was commonly attached to a descriptive word to form a byname. In this case the descriptive element was either the Old English compound for a wild deer or the Middle English adjective for a wild, unruly person. Such bynames became fixed, hereditary family names during the later Middle Ages, and the spelling settled into its modern form, Wilder, over the following centuries. Independently, German-speaking regions produced Wilder as a variant of Wild.
Both the English and the German surnames were carried to North America by immigrants, and the name appears there as a family name well before it was used as a first name. As a given name, Wilder belongs to the broad American practice of using surnames as first names, a pattern that grew through the twentieth century and expanded in the later decades of it. The given name is most often masculine. Its use as a first name is a modern development of the surname rather than a continuation of any older personal-name tradition.
The surname is familiar from American figures such as the playwright and novelist Thornton Wilder, the author Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the actor Gene Wilder; these are bearers of the family name, and no single one of them accounts for the given name's adoption.
How Popular is the Name Wilder?
Wilder recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2021. Its best rank was #366 in 2021.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,572 | 43 | 0.0027% |
| 2024 | #3,259 | 49 | 0.0030% |
| 2023 | #3,217 | 51 | 0.0032% |
| 2022 | #2,155 | 89 | 0.0054% |
| 2021 | #2,150 | 88 | 0.0054% |
| 2020 | #2,436 | 72 | 0.0045% |
| 2019 | #3,384 | 47 | 0.0028% |
| 2018 | #3,104 | 53 | 0.0031% |
| 2017 | #4,377 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 2016 | #3,988 | 38 | 0.0021% |
| 2015 | #6,019 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2014 | #10,914 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2013 | #19,137 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #19,685 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #20,066 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #15,325 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1928 | #5,417 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1925 | #5,747 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1923 | #4,952 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1918 | #5,567 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #431 | 743 | 0.0435% |
| 2024 | #392 | 830 | 0.0484% |
| 2023 | #422 | 755 | 0.0442% |
| 2022 | #374 | 866 | 0.0496% |
| 2021 | #366 | 890 | 0.0509% |
| 2020 | #426 | 695 | 0.0403% |
| 2019 | #485 | 601 | 0.0335% |
| 2018 | #527 | 540 | 0.0297% |
| 2017 | #573 | 477 | 0.0258% |
| 2016 | #726 | 338 | 0.0178% |
| 2015 | #964 | 215 | 0.0112% |
| 2014 | #1,317 | 134 | 0.0070% |
| 2013 | #1,344 | 127 | 0.0067% |
| 2012 | #1,667 | 93 | 0.0049% |
| 2011 | #2,143 | 62 | 0.0033% |
| 2010 | #2,097 | 65 | 0.0034% |
| 2009 | #3,103 | 38 | 0.0019% |
| 2008 | #2,262 | 59 | 0.0029% |
| 2007 | #2,336 | 56 | 0.0027% |
| 2006 | #3,022 | 37 | 0.0018% |
| 2005 | #3,169 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 2004 | #2,487 | 45 | 0.0023% |
| 2003 | #3,524 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 2002 | #3,550 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 2001 | #3,225 | 28 | 0.0014% |
| 2000 | #4,200 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1999 | #3,371 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 1998 | #3,702 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1997 | #4,948 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1996 | #4,179 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1995 | #4,784 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1994 | #5,437 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1993 | #3,364 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1992 | #4,315 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1991 | #5,500 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1990 | #4,162 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1989 | #4,263 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1987 | #6,073 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1985 | #5,131 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #6,289 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #6,211 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1982 | #6,370 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #7,271 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1972 | #5,734 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1969 | #4,398 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1952 | #4,248 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1951 | #3,701 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1950 | #4,182 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1946 | #2,913 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1942 | #3,206 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1937 | #2,329 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1936 | #2,623 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1931 | #3,751 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1929 | #4,525 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1928 | #3,352 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1927 | #4,198 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1926 | #4,180 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1925 | #3,729 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1924 | #3,859 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1923 | #3,817 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1922 | #3,521 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1921 | #2,625 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1920 | #4,271 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1919 | #4,792 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1918 | #2,872 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1917 | #3,209 | 8 | 0.0009% |
| 1916 | #3,881 | 6 | 0.0007% |
| 1915 | #2,821 | 9 | 0.0011% |
| 1914 | #2,452 | 9 | 0.0014% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Wilder Shapes Your Personality and Life?
To express itself, you must follow the divine law of love. You have great persistence and hate to give up. You are a good mixer, charming, magnetic and intuitive. The spirituality is the key to success. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Wilder's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Wilder's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.