Name Awesome

Wilder

#431 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Wild, untamed, uncontrolled

Wilder has been given to 8,835 babies in the U.S. since 1914. In 2025 it ranked #431 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2021, with 890 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 93% boys, 7% girls all-time.

Babies named Wilder, 2025

1 in 4,460

Wilder over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
02505007501K18801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Wilder over time

In 2025, Wilder went to 5% girls and 95% boys.

19142025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Wilder: meaning, origin, and history

Wild, untamed, uncontrolled

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Wilder means

Wilder means “wild, untamed, uncontrolled”.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 8,197 boys were recorded with the name Wilder between 1914 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 890 in 2021; its best national rank was #367 in 2021.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #427 in 2020 to #431 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #965 in 2015 to #431 in 2025.

In the United States, 638 girls were recorded with the name Wilder between 1918 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 89 in 2022; its best national rank was #2,152 in 2021.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,438 in 2020 to #3,571 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #6,020 in 2015 to #3,571 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Wilder?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 4,460
743 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 2,300
0.04% of boys
Rank, 2025
#431
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
3,094 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Wilder sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 1002%
School of 50011%

Put another way: gather 3,094 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Wilder. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Wilders were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Wilder was born before 2020 — so the typical Wilder is around 5 today.

Median birth year
2020
About 5 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
58.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
95.0%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
8,037
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 58.4% of all recorded uses (4,786).

Is Wilder rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−41
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−4
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
+534
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
3.46×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
83.5%
Peak was 2021 (890)
Years since peak
4
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
26.8% average annual change
Best rank ever
#367
2021

Spellings of Wilder

Wilder is not the most common spelling — Walter is, with 73.7% against Wilder's 0.96%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Wilder is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Wilder was most concentrated in Vermont — about 1 in 361 boys, against 1 in 2,351 across all states with data. It was least common in Nevada (1 in 16,667).

6277 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Vermont1 in 361
  2. 2Maine1 in 503
  3. 3Montana1 in 725
  4. 4New Hampshire1 in 847
  5. 5South Dakota1 in 855
  6. 6Tennessee1 in 1,010
  7. 7Idaho1 in 1,042
  8. 8Alaska1 in 1,064

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Geographically, Wilder is one of the more regionally concentrated names in the country — more concentrated than 84% of the names used widely enough to compare. See the most regional names

Where Wilder is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Wilder was most concentrated in South Dakota — about 1 in 5,882 girls, against 1 in 43,397 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in 100,000).

117 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1South Dakota1 in 5,882
  2. 2Oklahoma1 in 14,286
  3. 3Colorado1 in 25,000
  4. 4Missouri1 in 25,000
  5. 5Tennessee1 in 25,000
  6. 6California1 in 33,333
  7. 7Florida1 in 100,000
  8. 8Georgia1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Wilder around the world

Where Wilder ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2008–2025
    #976
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2023–2025
    #762
    in 2025
  • Ireland
    2025–2025
    #577
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2008–2024
    #496
    in 2024

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Central Statistics Office and Statistics Canada. ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO data under CC BY 4.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Wilder

People whose public names include Wilder, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Wilder by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#431
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 4
Best rank ever
#367
2021
Peak year
2021
890 that year
First recorded
1914
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
8,197
Count in 2025
743

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#3,571
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,133
Best rank ever
#2,152
2021
Peak year
2022
89 that year
First recorded
1918
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
638
Count in 2025
43

Names similar to Wilder

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

WiltonWilberWilmerWillamWilfordWillemWillianWillyWileyWilfredoWilsonWilliamsWillisWiliamWilburWilfredLeanderWilburnWilhelmWilbertWylderZanderCalderAnder

Names with a curve like Wilder

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Wilder, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

KashtonAresCairoShepherdBriggsApolloKohenSuttonKodaBooneDarielZyaire

Sibling names for Wilder

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Wilder

Top names of 2021, Wilder's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 2021Boys' names starting with WNature Names