Given name & surname
Fred
“a peaceful ruler”·“one who counsels the elves”
In English use, Fred is a diminutive of Frederick. One German interpretation is “a peaceful ruler.” In English use, Fred is a short form of Alfred. One English interpretation is “one who counsels the elves.”
Original GermanFritz
Meaning & origin
What it means
In German use, Fred carries the interpretation “a peaceful ruler.” In English use, Fred is a diminutive of Frederick. One German interpretation is “a peaceful ruler.” In English use, Fred is a short form of Alfred. One English interpretation is “one who counsels the elves.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
How it developed
In English use, Fred is used as a shortened form of Frederick.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Fred through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 345,684
- 343,655 boys · 2,029 girls
- Most popular year
- 1924
- 6,566 babies
- 2025
- 80
- #1,936 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −7%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 80 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,936 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 7.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 6,532 in 1924. In 2025, California and New York shared the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (8 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 129,142 as a first name in 2020; 1,868 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Fred’s family of names
In English usage, Fred is a diminutive of Frederick. In English usage, Fred has a feminine form in Freda. Fred has a related form in Freddie.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Fred has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its German roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 14
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 22
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Fred
- Fred AstaireAmerican dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer (1899–1987)
- Fred RogersAmerican television personality (1928–2003)
- Fred HoyleBritish astronomer (1915–2001)
- FredBrazilian association football player (born 1983)
- Fred ZinnemannAustrian film director (1907-1997)
- Fred ThompsonAmerican politician and actor (1942–2015)
- Fred TrumpAmerican real estate developer; father of Donald Trump (1905–1999)
- Fred RamsdellAmerican immunologistborn 1960
- Fred DurstAmerican singer, rapper, actor and director (born 1970)
Characters named Fred: Fred Jones (the American television animated series Scooby-Doo), Fred Flintstone (cartoon character), Fred Figglehorn (fictional character created and portrayed by American actor Lucas Cruikshank), Winifred Burkle (the TV series Angel).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Fred, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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