Waldo

German, pet form of names such as Waldemar

"to rule"

Waldo Origin and Meaning

The name Waldo is a boy's name of German origin meaning "to rule".

Its jaunty o-ending makes this name more appealing than most of its Germanic brothers, and we hope we're beyond the constant response to his name being "Where's Waldo?" The weighty reputation of writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson adds a measure of backbone to the name.

In tribute to Ralph Waldo, many babies were given those two names, including Ralph (Waldo) Ellison, author of Invisible Man.

In popular culture, the young Robert Redford played the dashing titular character in The Great Waldo Pepper and Waldo Lydecker was a key character in the haunting classic film Laura.

Waldo Rank in US Top 1000

# 881 in the US

Waldo Popularity

• 1968 Nameberry 2020

20 Names Similar to Waldo

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Waldo.

• Mateusz
• Sonje
• Lorence
• Jerad
• Sylver
• Ignacius
• Wilber
• Eiden
• Peabody
• Rella
• Georg
• Zoa
• Winfield
• Alf
• Valter
• Jeremie
• Suzie
• Rigel
• Janek
• Dunn

Famous People Named Waldo

• Waldo Lonsbury Semon American inventor
• Waldo of Reichenau Frankish abbot and bishop
• Waldo Porter Johnson U.S. Senator from Missouri
• Waldo David Frank American novelist
• Waldo de los Ríos Argentine composer
• Waldo Miller Salt American screenwriter
• Ralph Waldo Emerson American author
• Ralph Waldo Ellison American novelist

Waldo in Pop Culture

• "Where's Waldo?" children's book series by Martin Handford
• Waldo Faldo character on TV's "Family Matters" full name is Waldo Geraldo Faldo
• Waldo Farthingwaite Jones, title character in "Waldo" by Robert A. Heinlein
• "The Great Waldo Pepper " film and its main character
• Waldo Schaeffer aka Franz Hopper character on French animated series "Code Lyoko"
• Uncle Waldo drunken goose in Disney's "The Aristocats"
• Waldo "Dustin" Brooks Yellow Ranger in "Power Rangers: Ninja Storm"
• "The Waldo Moment" episode of TV show Black Mirror