Fleda

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Fleda

Pronounced FLEE-duh /ˈfli.də/Medium

Meaning: Fleda is generally traced to an Old English element meaning 'swift' or 'fleet', and it appears as a rare medieval English name revived in scattered use. Its scarcity means the etymology is offered with honest caution rather than certainty.Low

In 30 seconds: Fleda comes from an Old English root meaning swift. It was a rare early-twentieth-century name, now essentially gone (said FLEE-duh).

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Origin LowEnglish

MeaningFleda is generally traced to an Old English element meaning 'swift' or 'fleet', and it appears as a rare medieval English name revived in scattered use. Its scarcity means the etymology is offered with honest caution rather than certainty.

U.S. rank (1954)#6012 ↘ Falling

1954 U.S. births5 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)

Peak year1922

Total births (all-time)≈ 432

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Fleda is usually linked to an Old English word for 'swift', and it survives as a scarce name carried into American records around the turn of the twentieth century. It was never more than a rarity, given to only a couple dozen girls a year, and its exact history is thin enough that we offer the meaning with care.

A woman named Fleda would belong to a great-grandmother generation, and the name has an airy, unusual sound with no widely used nickname. The poet Fleda Brown carries it into recent literary life, keeping a faint but real thread of the name alive.

Did you know? Henry James gave the name Fleda to the sharp, sympathetic heroine of his novel The Spoils of Poynton, a rare literary outing for a very rare name.

Overall data confidence 40%

References — Fleda — Old English 'swift'; rare given name; literary bearers (H. James, F. Brown)

Variations

FletaFleida

Nicknames

Fleddie

Famous Bearers

★Fleda Brown (born 1944)
American poet and former poet laureate of Delaware

If you like Fleda…

Fleta— a close spelling variant

Freda— a like short vintage -da name

Alida— a similar airy vintage name

Elva— another rare early-1900s girl's name in feel

Explore names like Fleda

By themerare vintage literary old-english

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Fleda mean?

It is generally traced to an Old English root meaning 'swift'; the name is rare enough that the meaning is offered with some caution.

How do you pronounce Fleda?

It's said FLEE-duh /ˈfli.də/, two syllables with the stress on the first.

Is Fleda a boy or girl name?

Fleda is used as a girl's name.

How popular is Fleda?

It was always rare, an early-twentieth-century name given to only a couple dozen girls a year and effectively gone today.