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Boy · Gothic, through Spanish
Ferdinand
Say it: FUR-dih-nand
Meaning
Of Visigothic origin; often explained as fardi 'journey' or frith 'peace' with nand 'daring', but this is uncertain.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
A Spanish royal name brought into the Habsburg family in the 16th century.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1880s
In the United States
- 8,780 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1884, about 1 in 2,100 boys
- 14 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- The Age of Revolutions1750 to 1837
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
Used by
The family of the name
| German | Ferdinand |
|---|---|
| Spanish | Fernando |
| Portuguese | Fernão |
| Italian | Ferdinando |
| French | Ferdinand |
Famous bearers
- Ferdinand II of Aragon
- Ferdinand Magellan (Fernão de Magalhães), navigator
- Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Royal and noble genealogies
- Medieval Spanish and Portuguese chronicles and charters
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.