Holding steady.
Popularity of Waddell since 1908
Babies named Waddell per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1947, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Waddell's real moment was 1910.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 5 |
| 1910s | 89 |
| 1920s | 140 |
| 1930s | 125 |
| 1940s | 135 |
| 1950s | 123 |
| 1960s | 84 |
| 1970s | 48 |
| 1980s | 26 |
| 1990s | 5 |
| 2000s | 0 |
| 2010s | 0 |
| 2020s | 0 |
Meaning & origin
Waddell is a rare masculine given name that saw its peak usage in the early 1910s, with the highest recorded year being 1910. The name has never been common, though it experienced a brief period of use during the 1910s decade. It has since remained stable at very low frequency, never returning to even modest popularity. Like many surname-derived first names of that era, Waddell reflects a broader trend of adopting family names as given names. Its obscurity today makes it a distinctive choice, though it carries no modern revival momentum. The data shows no single state had notable usage, underscoring its scattered and infrequent appearance in U.S. records.
The given name Waddell likely derives from the Scottish surname Waddell, which itself may be an anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Phàdraig (son of Patrick) or a habitational name. Alternatively, it could be a variant of the English surname Wadell, from Old English wæd (a ford) or an occupational name for a fuller. Its use as a first name is rare and largely confined to the early 20th century in the United States.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Wad
Variants: Wadell, Waddel
Sibling names for Waddell
Names that share Waddell's style, for a brother or sister.
