Given name & surname
Wilda
“one who is untamed; wild; forest dweller”
Wilda is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “one who is untamed; wild; forest dweller.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “one who is untamed; wild; forest dweller.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
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
Wilda through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 12,774
- 15 boys · 12,759 girls
- Most popular year
- 1926
- 411 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 girls is 5 in 2022. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 411 in 1926. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,440 as a first name in 2020; 434 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.
Wilda’s family of names
Wilda has a related form in Whilda. Wilda has a related form in Wildah. Wilda has a related form in Wilde.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Wilda
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Wilda, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Wilma
“determined protector”
>99% girls
Tilda
“one who is mighty in battle”
>99% girls
Rozella
“of the rose garden” · “horse”
>99% girls
Ailene
“light-bearer” · “from the green meadow”
>99% girls
Hilda
“a battlemaiden”
>99% girls
Genoveva
“of the juniper tree” · “of the race of women; the white wave”
>99% girls
Lilla
Lilla is a variant of Lily. One English interpretation is “resembling the flower; one who is innocent and beautiful.”
>99% girls
Rosina
“horse” · “fame”
>99% girls