UK boy's name
Wilf
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.
Wilf is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Wilf popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #880, with 36 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2018, with 59 births.
This profile covers 729 England and Wales registrations across 28 recorded years from 1997 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, 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 61% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 724 living people in the UK are called Wilf. 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
- • Wilf ranked #880 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 36 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2018, when 59 boys were registered as Wilf.
- • About 724 living people in the UK are estimated to have Wilf as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#880
2024
Births in 2024
36
Latest year
Peak year
2018
59 births
Estimated living
724
2026
Popularity
Wilf over time
The chart below shows babies named Wilf registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1997 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 Wilf, the clearest high point is 2018. The latest England and Wales figure is 36 births in 2024, compared with 59 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wilf by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Wilf 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 | #822 | 195 | 5 |
| 2010s | #922 | 359 | 10 |
| 2000s | #1272 | 160 | 10 |
| 1990s | #2192 | 15 | 3 |
Notable bearers
Famous people named Wilf
-
Wilf Scolding
actor
British actor
1990-
-
Wilf Rostron
association football player
English footballer (born 1956)
1956-
-
Wilf Slack
cricketer
English cricketer (1954-1989)
1954-1989
-
Wilf Wrigley
association football player
football player (born 1949)
1949-
-
Wilf Smith
association football player
English footballer (born 1946)
1946-
-
Wilf Tranter
association football player; association football coach
English footballer (born 1945)
1945-2021
-
Wilf Lunn
screenwriter; inventor; television presenter; stage carpenter; property designer; autobiographer
English prop maker (1942–2023)
1942-2023
-
Wilf McGuinness
association football player; association football coach
English football player and manager (born 1937)
1937-
Related
Names similar to Wilf
- William 117,982
- Wilfred 5,302
- Will 3,185
- Warren 2,787
- Wyatt 2,604
- Wesley 2,513
- Woody 1,951
- Walter 1,918
- Wiktor 1,354
- Wayne 979
- Wilbur 975
- Wade 902
FAQ
Wilf: questions and answers
How popular is the name Wilf in the UK right now?
In 2024, Wilf was ranked #880 for boys in England and Wales, with 36 births registered.
When was Wilf most popular?
The peak year on record was 2018, with 59 babies registered as Wilf in England and Wales.
How many people are called Wilf in the UK?
A total of 729 babies have been registered as Wilf across the 28 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
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.