Fred
Pronounced F R EH1 D (ARPABET)
- 1 syllable
- Peaked 1924
- 145 years in use
- 2 spellings
How popular is Fred?
Fred is a boys' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 343,930 children — the 110th most common boys' name on record.
It has been slipping, down 22% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1924, when 6,544 children were given it.
Two other spellings are counted in that total — Fread and Freda — because they are pronounced identically.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Fred and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Fread
- Freda
Nicknames
Fred is itself a short form of Frederick.
Characteristics
- 1 syllable
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- F R EH1 D
- Stress pattern:
- 1
- Syllables:
- 1
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Fred
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Fred
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Fred?
- Fred ranks 110th among boys' names in US records, with 343,930 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 972.
- Is Fred a unisex name?
- No. Fred is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
- When was Fred most popular?
- 1924, when 6,544 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Fred spelled?
- Fread, Freda. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.