Fun Facts About the Name Winiferd
- 16 babies named Winiferd: U.S. records list 16 babies given the name Winiferd from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Winiferd Mean?
Winiferd is a variant spelling of Winifred. The name's established meaning is usually given as "friend of peace." This gloss comes from two Old English elements: wine, meaning "friend," and friþ, meaning "peace." A related Old English personal name, Winefriþ, is built from those same two words.
The name is also bound up with the Welsh name Gwenfrewi (also written Gwenfrewy), borne by a 7th-century Welsh saint. That Welsh name is formed from gwen - "white, fair, blessed, holy" - and frewi, "reconciliation" or "peace." Medieval Latin and English records rendered the saint's name as Wenefreda or Winefrida, which carried the Welsh name into English in a form that overlapped with the Old English elements above. Because the two derivations sit so close together, the boundary between them is not always clear, and both "blessed peace" and "friend of peace" appear as customary glosses.
Winiferd Name History & Origins
Winifred came into wide English use mainly through the cult of Saint Winefride (Gwenfrewi), a 7th-century Welsh woman venerated as a martyr. Her shrine at Holywell in Flintshire, Wales - St Winefride's Well - was a major pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages, and devotion to her helped spread the name in England and in Normandy. Latin documents of the period show forms such as Winefrida and Wenefreda.
The name fell out of favor in England after the Reformation, when the veneration of saints was suppressed, but it survived in some families and was taken up again in the 19th century. Winiferd is an uncommon variant spelling of Winifred, differing from it by the order of the letters in the final syllable, where the r and the vowel are reversed. It represents the same name rather than a separate origin.
How Popular is the Name Winiferd?
Winiferd has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1919. Its best rank was #4,803 in 1919.
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 | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | #5,601 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1919 | #4,803 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1918 | #5,575 | 5 | 0.0004% |
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.
Most Popular Girl Names That Start with W
How the Name Winiferd 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.
✦ Winiferd's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Winiferd's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.