Meaning and history
From Latin Winifreda, possibly from a Welsh name Gwenfrewi, perhaps influenced by the Old English masculine name Winfred, Winifred is associated with Saint Winifred, a 7th-century Welsh martyr who was probably legendary. According to the story, she was beheaded by a prince after rejecting his advances, and a healing spring rose where her head fell; the site has been a pilgrimage destination since medieval times. Her story was recorded in the 12th century by Robert of Shrewsbury, and she has historically been more widely venerated in England than in Wales. The name has been used in England since at least the 16th century.
20062006: 27 births, rank #5,086
2007: 23 births, rank #5,895
2008: 29 births, rank #5,013
2009: 38 births, rank #4,013
2010: 22 births, rank #5,977
20112011: 30 births, rank #4,681
2012: 49 births, rank #3,314
2013: 71 births, rank #2,508
2014: 100 births, rank #1,982
2015: 160 births, rank #1,437
20162016: 147 births, rank #1,534
2017: 169 births, rank #1,364
2018: 154 births, rank #1,435
2019: 193 births, rank #1,209
2020: 222 births, rank #1,099
20212021: 235 births, rank #1,069
2022: 229 births, rank #1,089
2023: 269 births, rank #963
2024: 245 births, rank #1,027
20252025: 284 births, rank #922
Winifred rose from #963 to #923 for girls between 2023 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1918, with 1,593 births.