Fred

Did you know?

A few things about Fred you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Fred

Fred Rogers

American television personality (1928–2003)

Choose Fred and your child shares a first name with Fred Rogers, an American television personality. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Fred, like who?” Fred Rogers's Wikipedia article is available in 75 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Fred Rogers on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Walt Seng; Distributed by PBS, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 21,368 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Fred, 80 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Fred would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryFred has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Freds, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1885, when it ranked #14. Today it's #1,932, so it could be due a comeback.
• 🍂TrendFred has slipped 134 places over the last five years and now sits at #1,932. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 💬MeaningFred is an English form of Frederick, which means “peaceful ruler”.

About the name Fred

Fred is a boy name meaning “peaceful ruler”. It has 4 letters and 1 syllable, starting with F and ending in “-red”. US birth records list Fred for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1885, when it ranked #14 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #1,932, with 80 babies.