boy's name
Wilder
WY-lder
- Origin Germanic
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 9,678
the United States
#430
2025 births
Wilder is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "untamed" or "hunter". It is a surname before a first name, and its modern use draws as much on the English word wild as on the German root behind it.
- Wilder is a name of Germanic origin.
- Peaked in 2021, when 978 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,218 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1914.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Wilder over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 52 |
| 1920s | 88 |
| 1930s | 26 |
| 1940s | 15 |
| 1950s | 16 |
| 1960s | 6 |
| 1970s | 5 |
| 1980s | 51 |
| 1990s | 155 |
| 2000s | 378 |
| 2010s | 2,865 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,178 |
What Wilder means
Wilder means wild or untamed, from a Germanic root, and in surname use also marks a hunter — someone who worked the wild land rather than the farmed. Both senses sit behind the name.
Where Wilder comes from
Wilder comes from the Middle High German wilde, wild or untamed, used as a byname for an unruly person, and separately from a term for a hunter or someone living on uncultivated land. It exists as both a German and an English surname, the English one from the same Germanic stock. Its literary weight in English comes from Thornton Wilder, who wrote Our Town, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Billy Wilder, who directed Some Like It Hot. The name appears in our records from 1914 but had almost no use until the 2010s, when it rose with the taste for surnames that sound like adjectives.
Wilder in use
Wilder charts in five of the seven countries we track and peaked in 2021.
How popular is Wilder?
In 2025, Wilder was given to 786 babies in the United States, ranking #430 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Wilder is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Wilder
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Wilder also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Wilder over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Wilder
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Wilder in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Wilder
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Wilder — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Wilder
What does the name Wilder mean?
Untamed, from a Germanic root, and in surname use also a hunter or someone living on uncultivated land.
Is Wilder a boy's or a girl's name?
It is given almost entirely to boys.
Is Wilder a real surname?
Yes, both German and English — carried by Thornton Wilder, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Billy Wilder.
How popular is the name Wilder?
In 2025, Wilder was given to 786 babies in the United States, ranking #430 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Wilder?
Wilder has 2 syllables.
When was Wilder most popular?
Wilder peaked in 2021, when 978 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Wilder?
Wilder is usually shortened to Wild and Wil.
Is Wilder a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Wilder currently ranks #430 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.