WILDE
The surname Wilde finds its earliest attestation in the Domesday Book of 1086, where an Ulricus Wilde is recorded in the county of Lincolnshire. Subsequent medieval documents, including the Pipe Rolls of Leicestershire (1177) and Sussex (1200) and the Court Rolls of Essex (1236), provide further evidence of the name’s enduring presence in England.
The name bears both English and German origins. In English it derives from the Old English word wilde, meaning “wild” or “untamed,” while in German it is simply the modern word wild. As a surname, it was probably applied either as a descriptive nickname to a person who displayed a fierce or boisterous disposition, or in a residential sense to someone habitually residing in a wild or uncultivated landscape such as a weald – an area of unrestricted grazing land.
Historical variants of the surname include Wilde, Whilde, Wylde, Wyldes, Weald, Weild, Weld, Welds, Wyeld and Wield. These orthographic differences reflect both dialectal variation and the lack of standardised spelling in the Middle Ages.
In the early modern period, parish registers record several bearers of the name: John Wyeld was christened on 5 March 1610 at St. Olave, Old Jewry, London; and Sarah Wield married William Atkins on 3 August 1763 at St. George’s, Botolph Lane, London. In later centuries the surname remained comparatively uncommon in England, with only around one thousand individuals carrying it. In Ireland its numbers are similar, approximately six thousand, while the United States hosts the largest concentration, with more than ten thousand bearers.
According to a recent census analysis compiled by Forebears, the surname Wilde ranks 16,837th in global prevalence, with an estimated 68,005 individuals worldwide. The distribution of the name reflects the broader patterns of British migration, providing a measurable presence across the former colonies and in continental Europe where the spelling has been retained or adapted.
In addition to its use in English, the surname appears in several other linguistic contexts. In Dutch it is usually rendered unchanged as Wilde, whereas in German it can also appear as Vilde or Witte. French forenames occasionally use a variation such as Vildé, and the name has been anglicised in North America to forms such as Wild, Wilds and Wylds. These variants illustrate the adaptability of the surname across cultural boundaries while preserving its original semantic reference to wildness or untamed nature.
Typical given names associated with the Wilde surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Stephen
Female
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Jane
- Julie
- Linda
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
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There are approximately 11,017 people named Wilde in the UK. That makes it the 837th most common surname in Britain. Around 169 in a million people in Britain are named Wilde.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Wilde
- Oscar Wilde - Irish writer and poet (1854 to 1900)
- Kim Wilde - Pop singer
- Olivia Wilde - American actress
- Brian Wilde - Actor (1927 to 2008)
- Marty Wilde - Singer and songwriter
- Ricky Wilde - Songwriter, musician, record producer, landscape gardener and brother of singer Kim Wilde, and son o
- Jimmy Wilde - Welsh professional boxer (1892 to 1969)
- Stuart Wilde - Writer (1946 to 2013)
- Henry Tingle Wilde - Chief Officer of RMS Titanic (1872 to 1912)
- Dorothy Wilde - Writer (1895 to 1941)
- Dani Wilde - Musician
- Oliver Wilde - Musician
- Frank Wilde - Tennis player (1911 to 1982)
- Adam Wilde - Football player
- David Wilde - Cricketer
- Ricky Wilde - Athlete (1945 to 2019)
- Bob Wilde - Professional football player (1900 to 1939)
- Walter Wilde - Cricketer (1908 to 1968)
- Henry Wilde - Electrical engineer (1833 to 1919)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.