1690s, "lacking;" 1812, "sought by the police;" past-participle adjective from want (v.). Wanted poster attested by 1945.
Entries linking to wanted
want v.
c. 1200, "to be lacking," from Old Norse vanta "to lack, want," earlier *wanaton, from Proto-Germanic *wanen, from PIE *weno-, suffixed form of root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out." The meaning "desire, wish for, feel the need of" is recorded by 1706.