Wordsworth: Name Meaning, Origin & Popularity

At a Glance: Name: Wordsworth – Meaning: Waddi's enclosure (an Old English personal name + worth, 'enclosure, homestead') – Origin: English (surname/place name, variant of Wadsworth) – Gender: Unisex – Pronunciation: WERDZ-werth


Wordsworth is an English (surname/place name, variant of Wadsworth) unisex name meaning “Waddi's enclosure (an Old English personal name + worth, 'enclosure, homestead')”. It appears in our list of Autumn Baby Names for a Fall-Born Little One.

Meaning & Origin of Wordsworth

Meaning: Waddi's enclosure (an Old English personal name + worth, 'enclosure, homestead').

Origin: English (surname/place name, variant of Wadsworth).

A common claim: Often glossed on baby-name lists as 'Wulfward's estate' (i.e., a 'guardian wolf' name). Actually: This is a folk etymology. Wordsworth actually derives from Wadsworth — the Old English personal name Waddi plus worth ('enclosure') — not from a name 'Wulfward.'

Source: Wiktionary.

How to Pronounce Wordsworth

Phonetic: WERDZ-werth   IPA: /ˈwɜːrdzwərθ/

Popularity of Wordsworth

Wordsworth doesn’t appear in U.S. Social Security birth records, which include every name given to at least five babies in a year — so it’s rare in the U.S.

Lists That Include Wordsworth

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