Girl · Old High German
Wilhelmina
Say it: vil-hel-MEE-nah
Meaning
Feminine of Wilhelm, from Germanic wil 'will, desire' and helm 'helmet, protection'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Popular in Dutch and German royal circles, and lately revived in English through the nickname Willa.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1890s
In the United States
- 12,440 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1893, about 1 in 1,800 girls
- 107 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Wilhelmine, Willemina
| German | Wilhelmine |
|---|---|
| Dutch | Wilhelmina |
| Swedish | Vilhelmina |
| Polish | Wilhelmina |
Famous bearers
- Wilhelmina, queen of the Netherlands
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Royal and noble genealogies
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- Parish baptism registers
- 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.