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Ferdinand

Gender
Boy
Origin
Germanic
UK rank, 2025
#2,342 for boys
US rank, 2025
#4,248 for boys

Ferdinand is a boys' name of Germanic origin, meaning “journey”. In 2025 it ranked 2,342nd for boys in the UK (10 babies) and 4,248th for boys in the US (24 babies).

What does Ferdinand mean?

Germanic

“journey”

A male given name from the Germanic languages, best known for a 13th century king of Spain, but seldom popular in English.

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Is Ferdinand a girl's or a boy's name?

Ferdinand is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 10 boys in the UK and 24 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.

How popular is Ferdinand in the UK?

Rank in 2025
2,342nd among boys
Babies in 2025
10 about 1 in 30,000 boys
Five-year trend
Rising up 43% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 10 boys in the UK were named Ferdinand, making it the 2,342nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,359th. Its busiest year was 2008, with 24 boys.

Half of all the boys named Ferdinand in the UK since 1996 were born between 2005 and 2017. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.

Among boys in 2025, it was 2,265th in England and Wales.

1996Busiest: 24 in 20082025
Ferdinand in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
202510#2,342
202412#2,009
20238#2,691
202211#2,143
202115#1,686
20209#2,359
20194#4,126
20188#2,576
201712#2,037
201612#2,007
201516#1,612
201410#2,207
201312#1,901
201213#1,850
201113#1,788
201016#1,585
200914#1,674
200824#1,129
200710#1,987
200612#1,640
200519#1,180
200413#1,417
200312#1,418
20027#1,900
200111#1,369
20004#2,612
19990–
19985#2,170
199712#1,174
19968#1,506

How popular is Ferdinand in the US?

Rank in 2025
4,248th among boys
Babies in 2025
24 about 1 in 71,000 boys
Five-year trend
Rising up 37% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 24 boys in the US were named Ferdinand, making it the 4,248th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,976th. Its busiest year was 1918, with 259 boys.

Half of all the boys named Ferdinand in the US since 1880 were born between 1917 and 1957, the years shaded on the chart below.

1880Busiest: 259 in 19182025
Ferdinand in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
202524#4,248
202428#3,894
202329#3,799
202229#3,772
202116#5,557
202014#5,976
201920#4,802
201825#4,090
201717#5,293
201635#3,229
201520#4,709
201424#4,135
201324#4,062
201221#4,530
201120#4,657
201023#4,240
200920#4,746
200825#4,041
200724#4,125
200621#4,366
200516#5,029
200416#5,002
200320#4,109
200215#4,913
200122#3,716
200016#4,567
199916#4,336
199818#3,845
199716#4,054
199627#2,742
199522#3,095
199427#2,680
199319#3,362
199228#2,527
199127#2,538
199035#2,081
198934#2,062
198824#2,432
198740#1,682
198631#1,915
198535#1,723
198425#2,097
198326#2,016
198246#1,394
198139#1,547
198035#1,655
197929#1,867
197834#1,616
197750#1,252
197638#1,453
197543#1,322
197436#1,439
197345#1,231
197245#1,230
197168#985
197056#1,093
196952#1,075
196856#986
196753#992
196656#968
196554#1,000
196437#1,287
196342#1,194
196250#1,081
196160#1,000
196063#950
195971#905
195853#1,048
195760#980
195666#916
195571#873
195469#886
195366#883
195269#839
195154#948
195053#947
194942#1,084
194868#823
194765#860
194647#980
194555#845
194459#814
194373#764
194270#770
194163#786
194061#792
193980#663
1938100#586
193762#781
1936116#529
1935101#575
193483#666
193393#603
1932109#565
1931109#562
1930145#494
1929138#499
1928156#487
1927156#484
1926161#473
1925159#481
1924185#449
1923198#432
1922214#410
1921222#409
1920185#446
1919205#407
1918259#363
1917236#362
1916246#339
1915245#336
1914204#318
1913127#372
1912113#363
191151#399
191048#370
190938#397
190835#400
190735#381
190634#355
190531#370
190436#335
190319#487
190232#348
190129#334
190041#337
189935#294
189830#350
189728#353
189640#290
189538#289
189444#261
189345#262
189233#320
189128#318
189033#299
188934#288
188842#278
188743#244
188640#267
188536#277
188455#227
188330#298
188248#242
188123#342
188032#291

Names like Ferdinand

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Frederick, Archie, Charlie, Louie, Harry, Otis, Albert, Rupert, Henry, Freddie, Frank, Otto

More Germanic names

Amelia, Liam, Charlotte, William, Emma, Ella, Millie, Albie, Matilda, Miles, Alice, Myles, Charles, Lottie, Avery, Reggie

Every Germanic name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Ferdinand: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/ferdinand, updated 20 October 2026.