Fun Facts About the Name Wraith
- 48 babies named Wraith: U.S. records list 48 babies given the name Wraith from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Wraith Mean?
Wraith is an English noun meaning 'ghost' or 'apparition,' and it is used as a given name in that sense. The word comes from Scots, the English speech of lowland Scotland, where it names a ghostly double or apparition, especially one seen shortly before or after a person's death. Its deeper origin is not settled. No secure root has been established; a long-standing suggestion connects it to Old Norse words for a guardian or watcher, but the sound correspondence is weak, so the derivation stays unproven. The literal sense 'ghost, specter' is the meaning carried over when the word becomes a name; the eerie, ominous coloring often attached to it belongs to later usage and folklore rather than to the etymology itself.
Wraith Name History & Origins
The word is recorded in Scots by the early sixteenth century, and it passed into standard English largely through Scottish writing. In Scottish folklore a wraith was an apparition of a living person, often seen by a relative or friend and taken as an omen of that person's approaching death; the comparable English and Irish term for the same belief is fetch. Nineteenth-century Scottish authors, Walter Scott among them, used the word in poetry and fiction, which helped carry it into general English, where it now covers any ghostly figure.
As a personal name, Wraith has no long record. It is taken directly from the ordinary noun rather than from an older personal name, so it has no inherited family form, patron, or traditional feast day behind it. Wraith also exists separately as an English surname. Its use as a given name is a modern development, and it turns up mainly in fantasy and gaming settings, where the ghostly sense of the word is the point; those appearances are literary and popular uses, not evidence of where the word came from.
How Popular is the Name Wraith?
Wraith 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 2025. Its best rank was #8,221 in 2025.
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 | #8,221 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #10,823 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #10,783 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2014 | #12,038 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #13,968 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #10,925 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2003 | #10,850 | 6 | 0.0003% |
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 Wraith 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 bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
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.
✦ Wraith's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Wraith's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.