📖 About Mildred
Mildred is an Old English name meaning 'gentle strength', from 'milde' (gentle) and 'þryð' (power). It was borne by Saint Mildred of Thanet, a 7th-century abbess venerated across medieval England. The name surged to the top 10 in the US between 1903 and the early 1920s — peaking at rank 6 with nearly 18,000 girls named Mildred in a single year — before gradually fading from use. Today it carries a rich vintage charm, with the nickname Millie enjoying a lively modern revival.
🔀 Variants & Related Names
⭐ Famous People
- Mildred Bailey — American jazz singer of the 1930s and 1940s, known as 'The Rockin' Chair Lady', she was the first female jazz vocalist to have a hit record and one of the earliest white singers to incorporate blues phrasing.
- Mildred Natwick — American stage and screen actress with a career spanning five decades, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Barefoot in the Park (1967).
- Mildred Pierce — Iconic fictional protagonist of James M. Cain's 1941 novel and the classic 1945 film noir starring Joan Crawford, whose Academy Award-winning performance made the name a cultural landmark.
- Mildred of Thanet — 7th–8th century Anglo-Saxon abbess and saint, granddaughter of the Kentish king Eorconberht, whose relics were venerated across medieval England and whose feast day is July 13.
- Mildred Norman (Peace Pilgrim) — American peace activist who walked over 25,000 miles across the United States from 1953 to 1981 as 'Peace Pilgrim', becoming a symbol of non-violent advocacy.