NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Frieda

A feminine name derived from the Germanic name Frida, meaning "peace".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Frieda is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Frieda popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1672, with 18 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2016, with 26 births.

This profile covers 290 England and Wales registrations across 23 recorded years from 1998 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 69% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 303 living people in the UK are called Frieda. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Frieda ranked #1672 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 18 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2016, when 26 girls were registered as Frieda.
  • Frieda ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #790 in 2024.
  • About 303 living people in the UK are estimated to have Frieda as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#1672

2024

Births in 2024

18

Latest year

Peak year

2016

26 births

Estimated living

303

2026

Meaning

What does Frieda mean?

The name Frieda originated from the Germanic languages, specifically Old High German and Old Saxon. It is a feminine form of the male name Fried, which means "peace" or "calm." The name can be traced back to the 8th century and was popular among the Germanic tribes.

In Old High German, the name was spelled as "Fridu" or "Frida," while in Old Saxon, it was written as "Fridu" or "Fridū." The name eventually evolved into the modern spelling of "Frieda" in various German dialects and other Germanic languages.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Frieda can be found in the "Nibelungenlied," a legendary German epic poem from the 13th century. In the poem, Kriemhild, the wife of Siegfried, is sometimes referred to as "Frida" or "Frida Kriemhild."

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Frieda. One of the most famous was Frieda Kahlo (1907-1954), the renowned Mexican painter known for her self-portraits and depictions of Mexican culture. Another prominent Frieda was Frieda von Richthofen (1879-1956), the wife of the famous World War I fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the "Red Baron."

Other notable individuals with the name Frieda include:

1. Frieda Arkin (1904-1989), an American photographer and photojournalist known for her work during the Great Depression. 2. Frieda Belinfante (1904-1995), a Dutch cellist and conductor who helped establish the first all-female orchestra in the Netherlands. 3. Frieda Fromm-Reichmann (1889-1957), a German-American psychoanalyst and pioneer in the field of psychotherapy for schizophrenia. 4. Frieda Hempel (1885-1955), a German soprano who achieved fame in the early 20th century for her performances in operas by Richard Strauss and other composers. 5. Frieda Zamba (1941-2022), an Argentine actress and comedian known for her work in theater, film, and television in Argentina and Latin America.

While the name Frieda has roots in Germanic languages, it has been adopted and popularized in various cultures around the world, reflecting its enduring appeal and historical significance.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Frieda over time

The chart below shows babies named Frieda registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1998 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Frieda, the clearest high point is 2016. The latest England and Wales figure is 18 births in 2024, compared with 26 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Frieda
07132026199820112024

Decades

Frieda by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Frieda was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #1742 84 5
2010s #1848 159 10
2000s #3007 41 6
1990s #3874 6 2

Geography

Where Frieda is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Frieda. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Frieda ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #790 in 2024.

Scotland
3

Across the UK

Frieda in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#790 in 2024

3 years of NRS records, 14 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Frieda

  • Frieda Hughes

    writer; painter; poet; children's writer

    English-born Australian poet and painter (born 1960)

    1960-

  • Frieda Inescort

    stage actor; film actor

    Scottish actress (1901–1976)

    1901-1976

  • Frieda Muriel Layton

    sister of Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton

    1890-1956

  • Frieda Lauth

    botanical illustrator

    South African botanical artist

    1879-1949

  • Frieda Harris

    painter

    British artist (1877-1962)

    1877-1962

  • Frieda Wangenheim

    Holocaust victim (born 1865)

    1865-1943

Related

Names similar to Frieda

FAQ

Frieda: questions and answers

How popular is the name Frieda in the UK right now?

In 2024, Frieda was ranked #1672 for girls in England and Wales, with 18 births registered.

When was Frieda most popular?

The peak year on record was 2016, with 26 babies registered as Frieda in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Frieda?

A feminine name derived from the Germanic name Frida, meaning "peace".

How many people are called Frieda in the UK?

A total of 290 babies have been registered as Frieda across the 23 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 14 more in Scotland.

Where is Frieda most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Frieda ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #790 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.