Mildred
/ˈmɪl.drəd/noun
A feminine given name of Old English origin.
Did you know?Mildred comes from an Old English name built from elements meaning “gentle” and “strength,” a classic example of how medieval names were meant to shape a person’s fate.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
Mildþryð
“A feminine personal name meaning roughly “gentle strength” or “mild strength.””
Late Old English / Middle English
English
Mildred
“The name was simplified in spelling and pronunciation over time.”
Modern English
English
Mildred
“A female given name, especially common in English-speaking countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*mildijaz
“Gentle, kind, or mild; the ancestral root behind English mild.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*þrūþiz
“Strength, force, or power; the ancestral root behind the second element of the name.”