Mildred

Meaning of Mildred

Mildred is an Old English compound of “milde” (gentle) and “þryð” (strength), a semantic pairing that turns up as early as the 8th-century abbess-saint Mildthryth of Thanet. Phonetically rendered as MILL-dred (/mɪl ˈdrɛd/), the name reached peak American popularity just after 1900, entered steady decline by mid-century, and now hovers in the low-900s—roughly a hundred births per year—illustrating the classic “hundred-year cycle” observed by demographers. Cultural references range from Joan Crawford’s resourceful Mildred Pierce to Kesey’s implacable Nurse Ratched, anchoring the name in pre-war Americana while giving it a whiff of dramatic tension. Its trochaic rhythm, liquid consonants, and readily trimmed nicknames (Millie, Mil) offer modern usability, yet the core etymology still signals “gentle strength,” a leadership model prized in contemporary management literature. Parents who appreciate vintage sharpness without overt sentimentality may find Mildred’s blend of decorous vowels and steely meaning a quietly strategic choice.