# Wade (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/wade/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “a ford” |
| Pronunciation | /weɪd/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Waide |
| US babies named this | 76,666 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 76,498 / 168 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 927, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Old English wæd (“a ford”).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 6 | 8,298 |
| 1972 | 6 | 8,263 |
| 1973 | 5 | 9,773 |
| 1974 | 5 | 10,218 |
| 1975 | 5 | 10,584 |
| 1976 | 5 | 10,875 |
| 1977 | 6 | 9,626 |
| 1978 | 7 | 8,541 |
| 1979 | 5 | 11,926 |
| 1981 | 5 | 12,151 |
| 1983 | 6 | 10,249 |
| 1985 | 6 | 10,649 |
| 1986 | 6 | 10,872 |
| 2004 | 7 | 14,112 |
| 2021 | 5 | 17,524 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 462 | 552 |
| 2012 | 470 | 555 |
| 2013 | 486 | 549 |
| 2014 | 509 | 544 |
| 2015 | 555 | 519 |
| 2016 | 791 | 406 |
| 2017 | 902 | 367 |
| 2018 | 917 | 361 |
| 2019 | 999 | 335 |
| 2020 | 944 | 341 |
| 2021 | 1,018 | 326 |
| 2022 | 953 | 344 |
| 2023 | 977 | 341 |
| 2024 | 1,010 | 341 |
| 2025 | 948 | 344 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 3 | 5,201 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 23 | 1,124 |
| 2012 | 26 | 1,051 |
| 2013 | 30 | 954 |
| 2014 | 29 | 988 |
| 2015 | 17 | 1,442 |
| 2016 | 44 | 758 |
| 2017 | 49 | 709 |
| 2018 | 43 | 763 |
| 2019 | 47 | 707 |
| 2020 | 40 | 781 |
| 2021 | 27 | 1,055 |
| 2022 | 24 | 1,143 |
| 2023 | 25 | 1,139 |
| 2024 | 21 | 1,282 |
| 2025 | 22 | 1,276 |

## People named Wade

- Wade Williams, American actor (born 1961)
- Wade Barrett, British professional wrestler (born 1980)
- Hendrik Wade Bode, American engineer, researcher, and inventor (1905–1982)
- Wade Domínguez, American actor (1966-1998)
- Wade Hampton III, American politician (1818-1902)
- Wade Robson, Australian choreographer, creative director, and songwriter
- Wade Redden, Canadian ice hockey player
- Wade Boggs, American baseball player
- Manly Wade Wellman, American writer (1903-1986)
- Wade Elliott, English footballer and manager (born 1978)
- Wade Baldwin, American basketball player (born 1996)
- Wade Belak, Canadian ice hockey player (1976–2011)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.