girl's name
Winter
WIN-ter
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 19,562
the United States
#426
2025 births
Winter is a girl's name taken from the season, from the Old English winter. It was a surname before it was a first name — a byname for someone born in the season or of a cold temperament — and it is one of the few season names given mostly to girls.
- Winter is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2022, when 1,118 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,098 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1954.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Winter over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1950s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 5 |
| 1960s | 28 |
| 1970s | 496 |
| 1980s | 880 |
| 1990s | 1,380 |
| 2000s | 2,213 |
| 2010s | 5,815 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,839 |
What Winter means
Winter names the coldest season. As a byname it described when a person was born or, less kindly, what they were like to deal with, which is how a great many medieval nicknames worked.
Where Winter comes from
Winter comes from the Old English winter, a word shared across the Germanic languages whose deeper root is disputed — proposals connect it to words for wet and for white. It was in use as a byname before the Norman Conquest, applied to someone born in the season or of a chilly disposition, and survives as a surname across England and Germany. Of the four seasons only Summer and Autumn have comparable lives as given names; Spring is rare and Winter is the one most often chosen for its sound rather than its warmth. It appears in our records from 1954.
Winter in use
Winter charts in four of the seven countries we track and peaked in 2022.
How popular is Winter?
In 2025, Winter was given to 809 babies in the United States, ranking #426 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Winter 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 Winter
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Winter also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Winter over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Winter
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.
Winter 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.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Wynter
Sibling names for Winter
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Winter — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Winter
What does the name Winter mean?
The season, from the Old English winter. It began as a byname for someone born then or of a cold temperament.
Is Winter a boy's or a girl's name?
Both, though it is given mostly to girls.
Are other seasons used as names?
Summer and Autumn are both well established. Spring is rare.
How popular is the name Winter?
In 2025, Winter was given to 809 babies in the United States, ranking #426 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Winter?
Winter has 2 syllables.
When was Winter most popular?
Winter peaked in 2022, when 1,118 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Winter?
Winter is usually shortened to Win.
Is Winter a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Winter currently ranks #347 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.