Wilder (name)

Wilder is an English and German surname, sometimes used as a given name, meaning "untamed" or "wild", a wild, free, or natural state or existence, also passionately eager or enthusiastic.

People with the given name

 * Wilder D. Baker (1890–1975), United States Navy admiral
 * Wilder Dwight Bancroft (1867–1953), American chemist
 * Wilder Calderón (born 1947), Peruvian politician
 * Wilder Cartagena (born 1994), Peruvian footballer
 * Wilder W. Crane Jr. (1928–1985), American politician
 * Wilder D. Foster (1819–1873), American politician
 * Wilder Guisao (born 1991), Colombian footballer
 * Wilder W. Hartley (1901–1970), American politician
 * Wilder Hobson (1906–1964), American writer and musician
 * Wilder Medina (born 1981), Colombian footballer
 * Wilder Metcalf (1855–1935), United States Army general and politician
 * Wilder Penfield (1891–1976), American-Canadian neurosurgeon
 * Wilder Smith (1835–1891), American minister and writer
 * Wilder Weir (born 1983), Canadian television host
 * Wilder Zabala (born 1982), Bolivian footballer

Acting and filmmaking

 * Billy Wilder (1906–2002), Austrian-born American film director
 * Gene Wilder (1933–2016), American actor
 * James Wilder (actor) (born 1968), American film and television actor
 * W. Lee Wilder (1904–1982), Austrian-born American screenwriter, film producer and director

Literature

 * Charlotte Frances Wilder (1839–1916), American writer
 * Cherry Wilder, pseudonym of New Zealand writer Cherry Barbara Grimm (1930–2002)
 * Effie Wilder (1909–2007), American writer
 * Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957), American writer
 * Louise Beebe Wilder (1878–1938), American gardening writer
 * Rose Wilder Lane (1886–1968), American writer
 * Thornton Wilder (1897–1975), American writer

Music

 * Ace Wilder (born 1982), Swedish singer
 * Alan Wilder (born 1959), British electronic musician
 * Alec Wilder (1907–1980), American composer and songwriter
 * Matthew Wilder (born 1953), American musician
 * Webb Wilder (born 1954), American singer-songwriter

Military and politics

 * Abel Carter Wilder (1828–1875), American businessman and politician
 * Douglas Wilder (born 1931), American politician, Governor of Virginia
 * Harvey A. Wilder (1907–1968), American farmer and politician
 * John Shelton Wilder (1921–2010), American politician, Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee
 * John T. Wilder (1830–1917), American Civil War general
 * Joseph M. Wilder (1918–1990), American politician
 * Wilber Elliott Wilder (1857–1952), American brigadier general

Sports

 * Bobby Wilder (born 1964), head coach of the Old Dominion Monarchs football team
 * Chris Wilder (born 1967), English football player and manager
 * Dash Wilder (born 1987), American professional wrestler
 * Deontay Wilder (born 1985), American heavyweight boxer
 * George Wilder (cricketer) (1876–1948), English cricketer
 * James Wilder Sr. (born 1958), American football running back
 * James Wilder Jr. (born 1992), American football running back
 * Michael Wilder (born 1962), American chess champion

Others

 * Burt Green Wilder (1841–1925), American comparative anatomist
 * Christopher Wilder (1944–1984), American serial rapist and murderer
 * Frances Farmer Wilder, American radio executive
 * George Wilder (criminal) (born 1962), prison escaper and New Zealand folk hero
 * Gertrude B. Wilder (1874–1955), American clubwoman
 * Harris Hawthorne Wilder (1864–1928), American zoologist
 * Inez Whipple Wilder (1871–1929), American zoologist
 * John R. Wilder (1816–1879), American businessman
 * J. Welles Wilder, Jr. (1935–2021), American mechanical engineer, best known for his work in technical analysis
 * Lynn Wilder (born 1952), American author and professor
 * Nicholas Wilder (1937–1989), American art dealer and gallery owner
 * Raymond Louis Wilder (1896–1982), American mathematician
 * Robert Wilder (born 1960), American businessman, creator of WilderHill Clean Energy Index
 * Russell Morse Wilder (1885–1959), American physician and medical researcher

Fictional characters

 * Alex Wilder, a fictional character appearing in Marvel Comics
 * Harry Wilder, a fictional character in the Case Closed
 * Wilder (Transformers), a fictional character
 * Zelos Wilder, a fictional character in the video game Tales of Symphonia
 * Kate Wilder, a fictional character in the video game The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me