Fun Facts About the Name Wilhelmina
- More than 13 thousand babies named Wilhelmina: U.S. records list 13,098 babies given the name Wilhelmina from 1880 through 2025. Even 5 boys received the name Wilhelmina - about 1 boy for every 2,619 girls.
What Does the Name Wilhelmina Mean?
Wilhelmina is the feminine form of Wilhelm, the German form of William, and it comes from the Germanic language family. The name is built from two elements: willio, meaning "will" or "desire," and helm, meaning "helmet" or "protection." Taken literally, the compound means something like "will-helmet," and this is customarily rendered as "resolute protector" or "willing protector." The feminine ending -ina is a Latin-derived suffix found in many women's names and does not carry meaning of its own here.
Wilhelmina Name History & Origins
Wilhelmina rests on the old Germanic two-part name Willahelm, the ancestor of German Wilhelm. Compound names pairing a quality of mind with a word for protection were common in Germanic naming, and the masculine form traveled widely through medieval German-speaking lands and beyond. The two elements stayed stable in form even as the name passed into different languages.
The feminine form developed the -ina ending, and the name is documented in both German and Dutch. German uses Wilhelmine alongside Wilhelmina, while Dutch favors Wilhelmina. In the Netherlands the name became closely tied to the House of Orange-Nassau: Wilhelmina of Prussia (1751 - 1820) married William V, Prince of Orange, and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (1880 - 1962) reigned from 1890 until her abdication in 1948.
In English, Wilhelmina is used as the feminine counterpart of William, with short forms such as Wilma and Mina. A well-known literary appearance is Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), though the name was in use before that novel and the character is not the source of the name.
How Popular is the Name Wilhelmina?
Wilhelmina recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1916. Its best rank was #215 in 1884.
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 | #1,517 | 141 | 0.0088% |
| 2024 | #1,817 | 111 | 0.0069% |
| 2023 | #1,541 | 139 | 0.0087% |
| 2022 | #1,569 | 136 | 0.0083% |
| 2021 | #1,649 | 127 | 0.0077% |
| 2020 | #1,827 | 108 | 0.0067% |
| 2019 | #1,638 | 130 | 0.0077% |
| 2018 | #1,670 | 126 | 0.0074% |
| 2017 | #1,742 | 122 | 0.0071% |
| 2016 | #1,797 | 116 | 0.0065% |
| 2015 | #1,608 | 134 | 0.0075% |
| 2014 | #1,875 | 108 | 0.0060% |
| 2013 | #2,594 | 69 | 0.0039% |
| 2012 | #2,802 | 63 | 0.0036% |
| 2011 | #3,088 | 55 | 0.0031% |
| 2010 | #3,810 | 41 | 0.0023% |
| 2009 | #5,091 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 2008 | #6,121 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2007 | #4,804 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 2006 | #8,217 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2005 | #6,520 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2004 | #8,235 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2003 | #6,571 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2002 | #5,663 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2001 | #7,708 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2000 | #9,142 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1999 | #6,829 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1998 | #10,092 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1997 | #6,156 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1996 | #6,384 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1995 | #8,062 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1994 | #8,784 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1993 | #8,037 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1992 | #5,474 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1991 | #6,970 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1990 | #6,858 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1989 | #8,021 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1988 | #6,660 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1987 | #8,765 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1986 | #6,601 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1985 | #5,341 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1984 | #6,285 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1983 | #5,140 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1982 | #4,024 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 1981 | #4,956 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1980 | #4,514 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1979 | #3,331 | 25 | 0.0016% |
| 1978 | #4,928 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1977 | #3,909 | 19 | 0.0012% |
| 1976 | #5,206 | 12 | 0.0008% |
| 1975 | #4,134 | 16 | 0.0011% |
| 1974 | #3,859 | 17 | 0.0012% |
| 1973 | #3,963 | 16 | 0.0011% |
| 1972 | #3,177 | 21 | 0.0014% |
| 1971 | #2,033 | 42 | 0.0025% |
| 1970 | #2,304 | 34 | 0.0019% |
| 1969 | #2,252 | 33 | 0.0020% |
| 1968 | #2,427 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 1967 | #1,732 | 45 | 0.0027% |
| 1966 | #1,857 | 39 | 0.0023% |
| 1965 | #1,527 | 54 | 0.0031% |
| 1964 | #1,517 | 57 | 0.0030% |
| 1963 | #1,462 | 59 | 0.0031% |
| 1962 | #1,597 | 51 | 0.0026% |
| 1961 | #1,578 | 52 | 0.0026% |
| 1960 | #1,453 | 58 | 0.0029% |
| 1959 | #1,347 | 64 | 0.0032% |
| 1958 | #1,467 | 54 | 0.0027% |
| 1957 | #1,169 | 83 | 0.0041% |
| 1956 | #1,099 | 89 | 0.0044% |
| 1955 | #1,073 | 89 | 0.0046% |
| 1954 | #1,010 | 95 | 0.0049% |
| 1953 | #1,033 | 88 | 0.0047% |
| 1952 | #982 | 93 | 0.0050% |
| 1951 | #793 | 126 | 0.0070% |
| 1950 | #784 | 123 | 0.0072% |
| 1949 | #1,031 | 76 | 0.0044% |
| 1948 | #815 | 114 | 0.0067% |
| 1947 | #852 | 107 | 0.0060% |
| 1946 | #863 | 93 | 0.0059% |
| 1945 | #818 | 86 | 0.0066% |
| 1944 | #816 | 88 | 0.0066% |
| 1943 | #757 | 105 | 0.0075% |
| 1942 | #768 | 98 | 0.0073% |
| 1941 | #801 | 82 | 0.0068% |
| 1940 | #682 | 105 | 0.0092% |
| 1939 | #609 | 123 | 0.0112% |
| 1938 | #665 | 108 | 0.0098% |
| 1937 | #656 | 108 | 0.0102% |
| 1936 | #699 | 92 | 0.0088% |
| 1935 | #617 | 111 | 0.0106% |
| 1934 | #555 | 135 | 0.0129% |
| 1933 | #566 | 129 | 0.0128% |
| 1932 | #556 | 139 | 0.0130% |
| 1931 | #576 | 132 | 0.0124% |
| 1930 | #520 | 169 | 0.0150% |
| 1929 | #505 | 179 | 0.0160% |
| 1928 | #527 | 174 | 0.0151% |
| 1927 | #510 | 190 | 0.0159% |
| 1926 | #516 | 183 | 0.0154% |
| 1925 | #459 | 227 | 0.0186% |
| 1924 | #502 | 198 | 0.0159% |
| 1923 | #455 | 227 | 0.0188% |
| 1922 | #466 | 216 | 0.0180% |
| 1921 | #458 | 230 | 0.0187% |
| 1920 | #464 | 214 | 0.0179% |
| 1919 | #461 | 210 | 0.0186% |
| 1918 | #427 | 239 | 0.0206% |
| 1917 | #382 | 279 | 0.0258% |
| 1916 | #345 | 320 | 0.0306% |
| 1915 | #342 | 301 | 0.0306% |
| 1914 | #360 | 216 | 0.0284% |
| 1913 | #340 | 201 | 0.0322% |
| 1912 | #328 | 191 | 0.0342% |
| 1911 | #334 | 141 | 0.0337% |
| 1910 | #321 | 143 | 0.0361% |
| 1909 | #321 | 128 | 0.0369% |
| 1908 | #300 | 140 | 0.0419% |
| 1907 | #332 | 112 | 0.0352% |
| 1906 | #322 | 109 | 0.0369% |
| 1905 | #320 | 112 | 0.0384% |
| 1904 | #332 | 98 | 0.0356% |
| 1903 | #307 | 105 | 0.0401% |
| 1902 | #300 | 112 | 0.0424% |
| 1901 | #292 | 107 | 0.0447% |
| 1900 | #309 | 114 | 0.0380% |
| 1899 | #277 | 109 | 0.0468% |
| 1898 | #302 | 106 | 0.0410% |
| 1897 | #330 | 79 | 0.0337% |
| 1896 | #288 | 103 | 0.0433% |
| 1895 | #287 | 97 | 0.0415% |
| 1894 | #286 | 94 | 0.0422% |
| 1893 | #243 | 119 | 0.0559% |
| 1892 | #253 | 110 | 0.0518% |
| 1891 | #237 | 103 | 0.0555% |
| 1890 | #253 | 98 | 0.0515% |
| 1889 | #241 | 95 | 0.0533% |
| 1888 | #249 | 88 | 0.0493% |
| 1887 | #241 | 77 | 0.0527% |
| 1886 | #258 | 66 | 0.0457% |
| 1885 | #229 | 76 | 0.0571% |
| 1884 | #215 | 77 | 0.0597% |
| 1883 | #246 | 54 | 0.0481% |
| 1882 | #220 | 62 | 0.0575% |
| 1881 | #221 | 49 | 0.0533% |
| 1880 | #260 | 36 | 0.0396% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | #4,136 | 5 | 0.0005% |
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 Wilhelmina 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.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Wilhelmina's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Wilhelmina's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.