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Winifred

Meaning, origin and pronunciation, with published usage by place and year.

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Meaning

Welsh gwen means white; the second element is uncertain.

This reports a documented name element, not a complete literal translation. DMNES leaves the second element unresolved; peaceful friend belongs to its separate Winfred analysis and is not established here.

Origin

Welsh, through Gwenfrewi; Latinized in medieval records.

DMNES records a Welsh derivation and Latin Winefrida. This documents that historical route; the separate Germanic Winfred entry is not treated as the same name.

English pronunciation

Not yet published for this spelling.

Published name usage

Counts apply only to the exact spelling, place, year and recorded usage shown. Places are separate; these figures are never added into a worldwide total. Missing or suppressed records never mean zero.

Latest published record available for this spelling in each place and recorded usage
PlaceYearRecorded usagePublished birthsRankNotes
Canada2025Girls26 · preliminary10312025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published.
France2017Girls5 (rounded to 5)6667Counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Ranks use unrounded publisher counts with randomly ordered ties; equally rounded counts can have different ranks. National coverage excludes Mayotte before 2012. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Automated direction labels are withheld for this rounded-count series. Rank basis: source published.
England & Wales2025Girls118364Published ranks differ from ranks calculated over visible rows. Counts retained; automated trend labels withheld. Rank basis: source published.
Scotland2024Girls5541Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published.
Ireland2019Girls6551Names below three occurrences are unpublished. Accent recording changed in 2018; comparisons across that boundary may not describe the same spelling coverage. Counts refer to registrations in the year. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Rank basis: source published.
United States2025Girls284922Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts.
United States1989Boys66941Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts.

Canada, Ireland and France coverage includes confidently matched existing profiles only; unmatched spellings are awaiting review. French counts are rounded to five.

Sources & notes

Open an entry for its source, credit, licence and full qualifications. Different name traditions remain separate.

Language of use: English

Checked against cited source

The exact English personal-name entry records Winifred as a female given name from Welsh; use and etymology are separate. Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Winifred&oldid=89353521 and https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Gwenfrewi&oldid=54921541. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names condensed the documented personal-name formation and separated it from unverified licensed glosses. No source audio reused.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Meaning: Welsh gwen means white; the second element is uncertain.

Checked against cited source

This reports a documented name element, not a complete literal translation. DMNES leaves the second element unresolved; peaceful friend belongs to its separate Winfred analysis and is not established here. Credit: A. Brown and S. L. Uckelman, Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (DMNES), edition 2023, no. 1. Source: https://dmnes.org/name/Winifred. Rights: original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; DMNES source text remains copyright its editors. No source passage, image, or recording reproduced. Summary notice: name formation and uncertainty restated in our own words.

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Original factual summary; DMNES source copyright retained

Name history: A documented Welsh route: Gwenfrewi, through Old English Winfriþ.

Checked against cited source

The exact Winifred entry gives this chain. It differs from the licensed German label and peaceful-friend gloss, which remain independently unverified; this source does not exclude every other historical route. Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Winifred&oldid=89353521 and https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Gwenfrewi&oldid=54921541. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names condensed the documented personal-name formation and separated it from unverified licensed glosses. No source audio reused.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Nickname: Winnie

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English given-name relationship. These spellings remain separate in popularity statistics.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Origin: Welsh, through Gwenfrewi; Latinized in medieval records.

Checked against cited source

DMNES records a Welsh derivation and Latin Winefrida. This documents that historical route; the separate Germanic Winfred entry is not treated as the same name. Credit: A. Brown and S. L. Uckelman, Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (DMNES), edition 2023, no. 1. Source: https://dmnes.org/name/Winifred. Rights: original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; DMNES source text remains copyright its editors. No source passage, image, or recording reproduced. Summary notice: name formation and uncertainty restated in our own words.

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Original factual summary; DMNES source copyright retained

Related name: Gwenfrewi

Checked against cited source

Documented Welsh source-name relationship, not an English nickname or freely interchangeable spelling. Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Winifred&oldid=89353521 and https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Gwenfrewi&oldid=54921541. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names condensed the documented personal-name formation and separated it from unverified licensed glosses. No source audio reused.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

country_CA

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country_FR

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country_IE

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(C) Crown copyright. Data supplied by National Records of Scotland.

Attribution: (C) Crown copyright. Data supplied by National Records of Scotland.

License: Open Government Licence v3.0

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Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence

Attribution: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence

License: Open Government Licence v3.0

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U.S. Social Security Administration

Attribution: U.S. Social Security Administration

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Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.

Credit: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.

License: Statistics Canada Open Licence

Adaptation: Adapted from Statistics Canada, First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators, Table 17-10-0147-01, reference years 1991–2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.

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Central Statistics Office, Ireland, VSA50 and VSA60, updated 27 February 2026.

Credit: Central Statistics Office, Ireland, VSA50 and VSA60, updated 27 February 2026.

License: CC BY 4.0

Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: joined the published count and rank indicators and matched unambiguous existing spellings. Source values retained.

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Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.

Credit: Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.

License: Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab)

Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: column names and sex codes mapped and unique case-only spellings matched to existing profiles. Published rounded counts and ranks retained.

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