Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Fred?
Births per year, rank history and how many Freds are alive today.
Fred (male), once a common boys' name, is now an uncommon choice for new babies in England and Wales, ranked 593rd in 2025 with 65 given the name. The name peaked in 1904, when around 3,400 babies were given the name, the 38th most popular that year. It has declined since 1904; the 2025 figure is roughly 2% of its peak. Numbers have been stable in recent years. At least 64,000 babies have been named Fred in England and Wales since 1904. Figures before 1996 are estimates. Fred is also a common short form of Frederick, so many people called Fred are registered under the longer name.
The Fred you are most likely to meet is around 72 years old. Half of all Freds born in England and Wales are between 45 and 79, and there are at least 10,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 3.2% chance that at least one of them will be called Fred.
How many babies are named Fred each year?
Where does Fred rank among boys' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Fred most popular?
Fred peaked in 1904, when around 3,400 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Fred?
At least 10,000 people named Fred born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Fred?
Most living Freds are between 45 and 79; the most common age is about 72.
Is Fred becoming more or less popular?
Well past its peak: today's figures are a fraction of the 1904 peak, though numbers have levelled off in recent years.