Ferdinand
About Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a traditional name among Spanish royal families and also appears in Shakespeare's The Tempest, borne by the handsome young prince shipwrecked on Prospero's island. Bold, daring, and poetic, it was a popular choice in the US in the 19th and early 20th century, but the 1938 movie Ferdinand the Bull has left it with a lingering clunkiness and it has been out of style since the 80s.
Derived from Fredenandus, Ferdinand is made up of the element nanþa, meaniing "boldness, daring", combined with either friþus or farþa, meaning "peace" and "journey" respectively. As such, the name can mean "bold voyager", "peaceful and bold", or perhaps even "bold but peaceful voyager".
Notable bearers include the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (the first European to cross the Pacific and the first person to circumnavigate the earth) and the racing driver Ferdinand Habsburg, along with various political and royal leaders throughout history.
The sleeker Spanish and Portuguese version Fernando is more popular currently in the US, Spain, Mexico, and Chile, while other international forms include the Dutch Dinand, Catalan Ferran, and Hungarian Nándor.
Pronounced FUR-di-nand.
As of October 2026, Ferdinand ranked #4294 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #229 in 1884.
Editor's take: The name Ferdinand is a boy's name of German origin meaning "bold voyager".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #4,171 | 24 | 12.5 |
| 2015 | #4,769 | 20 | 10.4 |
| 2016 | #3,249 | 35 | 18.4 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | #4,129 | 25 | 13.8 |
| 2019 | #4,848 | 20 | 11.1 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | #3,796 | 29 | 16.6 |
| 2023 | #3,817 | 29 | 17 |
| 2024 | #3,902 | 28 | 16.3 |
| 2025 | #4,294 | 24 | 14.1 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Ferdinand.
- Bertram
- Horace
- Barnabas
- Frédéric
- Friedrich
- Hiram
- Bartholomew
- Ebenezer
- Giles
- Maurice
- Mortimer
- Archibald
- Horatio
- Edmond
- Laurence
- Neville
- Wilhelm
- Fitzwilliam
- Simeon
- Cuthbert
Ferdinand on lists
Famous Ferdinands
- Ferdinand I and II
Kings of Portugal
- Ferdinand I and II
Kings of Aragon
- Ferdinand II
King of Leon
- Ferdinand I
III and IV, Kings of Castile and Leon
- Ferdinand V and VI
Kings of Spain
- Ferdinand I and II
Holy Roman Emperors
- Ferdinand I and II
Kings of Naples
- Ferdinand I (Ferdinand Antonio Pasquale Giovanni Nepomuceno Serafino Gennaro Benedetto) and II (Ferdinando Carlo)
Kings of the Two Sicilies
- Ferdinand I (Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe
Coburg and Gotha), King of Bulgaria
- Ferdinand I (Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad)
King of Romania
- Ferdinand I (Ferdinand Charles Leopold Joseph Francis Marcelin)
Emperor of Austria
- Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos
10th President of the Philippines
- Ferdinand Édouard Buisson
French winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
- Ferdinand Magellan
Portuguese explorer
- Ferdinand Jean Marie Foch
Marshal of France during WWI
- Ferdinand Mongin de Saussure
Swiss linguist
- Ferdinand Porsche
Czech auto engineer and founder of Porsche
- Ferdinand von Lindemann
German mathematician
- Ferdinand Zvonimir Maria Balthus Keith Michael Otto Antal Bahnam Leonhard von Habsburg
Austrian racing driver
- Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr.
birth name of Kareem Abdul,Jabbar, American basketball player
- Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe aka Jelly Roll Morton
American jazz musician
- Ferdinand Marie
Vicomte de Lesseps, French diplomat of the Suez Canal
- Ferdinand Budicki
Croatian auto pioneer
- Ferdinand Bol
Dutch painter
- Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria
Archduke of Austria whose assassination began WWI
- Ferdinand Maria Ludwig Franz von Assisi Isabellus Adalbert Ildefons Martin Bonifaz Joseph Isidro
Prince of Bavaria, Infante Ferdinand of Spain
- Ferdinand Philippe Marie d'Orléans
duc d'Alençon, cousin of Queen Victoria
- Ferdinand Georg August
Prince of Saxe,Coburg and Gotha, German general
- Ferdinand François Philippe Marie Laurent d'Orléans
Duc de Montpensier
- Ferdinand Philippe of Orleans
Prince Royal of France
- Ferdinand
Prince of the Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro (Ferdinando Maria Andrea Alfonso Marcus Borbone)
- Ferdinand Maria Fidelis Leopold Meinrad Valentin
Prince of Hohenzollern
Ferdinand in pop culture
- Ferdinand
character in Shakespeare's play The Tempest
- Ferdinand the Bull
a mild mannered bull in The Story of Ferdinand
- Ferdinand Griffon
main character in movie Pierrot le fou
- Ferdinand
a railway engine on animated series Thomas & Friends
- Ferdinand Vaněk
a vaguely autobiographical character in several plays by Václav Havel
- Ferdinand Hollie
character on TV series "NYPD Blue"
- Ferdinand
the duck in film "Babe"
- Ferdinand
character on TV series Orphan Black
- Ferdinand
main character in Disney film "Ferdinand"
- Ferdinand "Foggy" Nelson
character in Marvel's Daredevil series
- Franz Ferdinand
Scottish band
- Ferdinand von Aegir
character in Fire Emblem Three Houses video game