Baldwin is an Old Germanic and Anglo-Saxon name. It may either derive from Bealdwine, or the Old German equivalent Baldavin, meaning 'brave, bold friend'. Baldwin is known in Old French as Baudouin and Latin as Balduīnus, from Proto-Germanic *Balþawiniz, "bold friend." In Arabic sources the name is called بالدوين (Bāldwīn).

It is found in many other modern European languages: Baudouin (French); Baldovino (Italian), Boudewijn (Dutch), Balduino (Spanish and Esperanto).^[1]

People with the surname

• A. Michael Baldwin (born 1963), American actor
• Abraham Baldwin (1754–1807), American politician
• Adam Baldwin (born 1962), American actor
• Agnes Baldwin (disambiguation), several people
• Alec Baldwin (born 1958), American actor, oldest and best known of the "Baldwin brothers"
• Alfred Baldwin (disambiguation), several people
• Andrew Baldwin (born 1977), United States Navy officer, participant on The Bachelor television series
• Arthur Baldwin, 3rd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (1904–1976), British businessman
• Augustus C. Baldwin (1817–1903), U.S. Representative from Michigan
• Augustus Warren Baldwin (1776–1866), politician in Upper Canada
• Bill Baldwin (1935–2015), United States science fiction writer
• Bob Baldwin (politician) (born 1955), Australian politician
• Bobby Baldwin (born 1950), United States poker player
• Brian Baldwin (1958–1999), American man executed in Alabama
• Brooke Baldwin (born 1979), CNN Newsroom anchor
• Cecil Baldwin, voice actor for the podcast Welcome to Night Vale
• Charles Baldwin (disambiguation), several people
• Charlotte Fowler Baldwin (1805–1873), American missionary
• Christopher Baldwin (born 1973), Illustrator and author of webcomics
• Chuck Baldwin (born 1952), 2008 Constitution Party nominee for President of the United States
• Clare Baldwin, American journalist
• Cliff Baldwin (1899–1979), American football player
• Craig Baldwin (born 1952), American filmmaker
• Cyrus Baldwin (1773–1854), American civil engineer
• Cyrus G. Baldwin (1852–1931) American minister, college professor, and college president
• Daniel Baldwin (born 1960), American actor, producer, and director, one of the "Baldwin brothers"
• Daniel P. Baldwin (1837–1908), American politician
• Daryl Baldwin, Miami researcher and cultural activist
• Dave Baldwin (disambiguation), several people
• Daylen Baldwin (born 1999), American football player
• Diana Baldwin (1948–2016), American coal miner
• Dick Baldwin (1911–1996), American actor
• Donny Baldwin, American rock drummer
• Doug Baldwin (born 1988), American football player
• Doug Baldwin (ice hockey) (1922–2007), Canadian ice hockey player
• Dwight Baldwin (disambiguation), several people
• Edith Ella Baldwin (1848–1920), American artist
• Edward Baldwin, 4th Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (1938–2021), British educator
• Lucky Baldwin (Elias J. Baldwin, 1828–1909), American entrepreneur, landowner, investor
• Ephraim Francis Baldwin (1837–1916), American architect
• Esther E. Baldwin (1840–1910), American missionary, teacher, translator, writer, editor
• Faith Baldwin (1893–1978), U.S. author of romance and fiction
• Frank Baldwin (1842–1923), one of only 19 servicemen to receive the Medal of Honor twice
• Frank Stephen Baldwin (1838–1925), American who invented a pinwheel calculator
• Frederick Walker Baldwin (1882–1948), hydrofoil and aviation pioneer
• Ged Baldwin (1907–1991), Canadian politician
• George Baldwin (disambiguation), several people
• Graham Baldwin (born c. 1954), British anti-cult activist
• Greg Baldwin (born 1960), American voice actor
• Harry Baldwin (cricketer) (1860–1935), English cricketer
• Harry Streett Baldwin (1894–1952), U.S. Congressman
• Henry Baldwin (disambiguation), several people
• Howard Baldwin (born 1942), American businessman
• Howard S. Baldwin (1934–2008), American politician and businessman
• Ira Baldwin (1895–1999), founder and director emeritus of the Wisconsin Academy Foundation
• James T. Baldwin (1933–2018), American industrial designer, author, and educator
• J. Rush Baldwin, American politician
• Jack Baldwin (disambiguation), several people
• James Baldwin (disambiguation), several people
• Jason Baldwin, one of the West Memphis Three
• Jerry Baldwin, American businessman
• John Baldwin (disambiguation), several people
• Joseph Baldwin (disambiguation), several people
• Kaine Baldwin (born 2002), Australian Football Player
• Kathleen Baldwin, American writer of comic romance novels
• Karen Dianne Baldwin (born 1963), Canadian actress
• Keith Baldwin (born 1960), American football player
• Lewis V. Baldwin, historian, author, and professor specializing in the history of the black churches in the United States
• Loammi Baldwin (1744–1807), American engineer, politician, and a soldier in the American Revolutionary War
• Loammi Baldwin Jr. (1780–1838), American civil engineer
• Mark Baldwin (disambiguation), several people
• Mary Briscoe Baldwin (1811–1877), American missionary educator
• Matthias W. Baldwin (1795–1866), American steam locomotive builder, founder of Baldwin Locomotive Works
• Melvin Baldwin (1838–1901), Representative from Minnesota
• Michele Baldwin (1966–2012) also known as Lady Ganga, stand up paddled 700 miles down the Ganges River to raise awareness of cervical cancer
• Mike Baldwin (motorcyclist) (born 1955), American professional motorcycle road racer
• Oliver Baldwin, 2nd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (1899–1958), British socialist politician
• Owen Baldwin (1893–1942), British flying ace
• Patrick Baldwin Jr. (born 2002), American basketball player
• Percival G. Baldwin (1880–1936), American politician and businessman
• Peter Baldwin (disambiguation), several people
• Raymond E. Baldwin (1893–1986), United States Senator, the 72nd and 74th Governor of Connecticut
• Richard J. Baldwin (1853–1944), Pennsylvania State Representative, Pennsylvania State Senator, Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
• Robert Baldwin (disambiguation), several people
• Roger Nash Baldwin (1884–1981), founder of ACLU
• Roger Sherman Baldwin (1793–1863), US lawyer and politician
• Roy E. Baldwin (born 1948), member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
• Roy Alvin Baldwin (1885–1940), member of the Texas House of Representatives
• Roy Baldwin (footballer) (1927–2016), Australian rules footballer
• Ruth Baldwin (c. 1761–1788), aka Ruth Bowyer, a convict sent to Australia on the First Fleet
• Sally Baldwin (1940–2003), University of York social sciences professor
• Shauna Singh Baldwin (born 1962), Canadian-American novelist
• Simeon Baldwin (1761–1851), son-in-law of Roger Sherman
• Simeon Eben Baldwin (1840–1927), jurist, law professor and the 65th Governor of Connecticut
• Simon Baldwin (born 1975), rugby league footballer
• Stanley Baldwin (1867–1947), later Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, three-time prime minister of the United Kingdom
• Stephen Baldwin (born 1966), American actor, youngest of the "Baldwin brothers"
• Stephen Baldwin (politician) (born 1982), American politician, West Virginia state Senator
• Sumner Baldwin (1833–1903), New York politician
• Tammy Baldwin (born 1962), American politician, Senator from Wisconsin, first openly homosexual Senator
• Theodore Anderson Baldwin (1839–1925), U.S. military officer during the American Civil War and the Spanish–American War
• Thomas Scott Baldwin (1860–1923), U.S. Army Major and pioneer balloonist
• Tom Baldwin (racing driver) (1947–2004), NASCAR Modified race driver
• Tommy Baldwin (born 1945), English footballer
• Tommy Baldwin Jr. (born 1966), team majority owner of Tommy Baldwin Racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
• Tony Baldwin, (born 1973), college softball coach
• Wade Baldwin IV (born 1996), American basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Walter Baldwin (1889−1977), American film and television actor
• William Baldwin (disambiguation), several people

People with the mononym

• Baldwin I of Jerusalem (1058?–1118), also Baldwin I of Edessa
• Baldwin II of Jerusalem (died 1131), also Baldwin II of Edessa
• Baldwin III of Jerusalem (1130–1162)
• Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (1161–1185), a.k.a. the Leper King
• Baldwin V of Jerusalem (1177–1186)
• Baldwin I of Ramla (died 1138)
• Baldwin of Ibelin (early 1130s – c. 1187 or 1186/1188), also Baldwin III of Ramla
• Baldwin I, Margrave of Flanders (probably 830s – 879)
• Baldwin II, Margrave of Flanders (865–918), also Baldwin I of Boulogne
• Baldwin III, Count of Flanders (c. 940–962)
• Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders (980–1035)
• Baldwin V, Count of Flanders (1012–1067)
• Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders (c. 1030–1070), a.k.a. Baldwin the Good, also Baldwin I, Count of Hainaut
• Baldwin VII, Count of Flanders (1093–1119)
• Baldwin I, Latin Emperor (1172–c.1205), also Baldwin IX of Flanders and Baldwin VI, Count of Hainaut
• Baldwin II, Latin Emperor (1217–1273), or Baldwin of Courtenay
• Baldwin II, Count of Boulogne (died c. 1027)
• Baldwin II, Count of Hainaut (1056–1098?)
• Baldwin III, Count of Hainaut (1088–1120)
• Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut (1108–1171)
• Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut (1150–1195), also Baldwin I of Namur (1189–1195), Baldwin VIII of Flanders (1191–1195)
• Baldwin of Forde (c. 1125–1190), Archbishop of Canterbury
• Baldwin of Biggar (fl. 1160–1170), Flemish/Scots magnate, Sheriff of Clydesdale
• Baldovin (fl. 1325–1345), Serbian noble
• Baldwin (abbot of Bury St Edmunds) (died 1097)
• Baldwin (archbishop of Pisa) (died 1145)
• Baldwin of Rieti (died 1140), saint
• Baldwin of Luxembourg (c. 1285–1354), Archbishop of Trier
• Baudouin of Belgium (1930–1993), called "Baldwin" in English

People with the given name

• Baldwin de Redvers, 1st Earl of Devon (died 1155)
• Baldwin de Redvers, 6th Earl of Devon (1217–1245)
• Baldwin Domingo (1926–2020), American politician

Fictional characters with the surname

• Robbie Baldwin, a superhero in Marvel Comics
• In the soap opera Coronation Street:
  • Carol Baldwin
  • Danny Baldwin
  • Frankie Baldwin
  • Jamie Baldwin
  • Mike Baldwin (Coronation Street)
  • Viv Baldwin
  • Warren Baldwin
• In the soap opera The Young and the Restless:
  • Eden Baldwin
  • Lauren Fenmore Baldwin
  • Michael Baldwin
  • River Baldwin
• Baldwin Montclair (A Discovery of Witches)
• Tom Baldwin (The 4400)
• Tom Baldwin (General Hospital)