Given name & surname
Speed
“having good fortune”
Speed is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “having good fortune.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “having good fortune.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
From Middle English speden (“assistance, aid”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1890. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Speed through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 19
- 19 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 9 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 9 in 1921. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,092 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.
Speed’s family of names
In English usage, Speed as a surname has a diminutive in SPEEDY. Speed has a related form in Spead. Speed has a related form in Speade.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Speed, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Wilfred
“one who wishes for peace”
>99% boys
Yates
“keeper of the gates”
>99% boys
Halstead
“from the manor grounds”
>99% boys
Edmond
“a wealthy protector”
>99% boys
Elden
“an old friend”
>99% boys
Elroy
“a red-haired young man” · “a king”
>99% boys
Sumner
“a legal official; one who serves summons”
82% boys · 18% girls
Rupert
“one who is bright with fame”
>99% boys