Girl nameCurrently #1,097 in the USFalling
Wendy
WEN-dee//ˈwɛndi//
2 syllablesPeak year: 19675 lettersStarts with W
Meaning & origin
Coined by J.M. Barrie for Peter Pan
Wendy was popularized, and largely invented as a first name, by J.M. Barrie for the character Wendy Darling in 'Peter Pan', reportedly inspired by a young friend's nickname for him, 'fwendy-wendy' (friend). It became a widely used, cheerful name through much of the 20th century.
Wendy's popularity over time
| Year | Births named Wendy |
|---|---|
| 1918 | 5 |
| 1921 | 7 |
| 1923 | 9 |
| 1927 | 16 |
| 1928 | 5 |
| 1929 | 8 |
| 1930 | 17 |
| 1931 | 9 |
| 1932 | 11 |
| 1933 | 10 |
| 1934 | 10 |
| 1935 | 27 |
| 1936 | 67 |
| 1937 | 80 |
| 1938 | 130 |
| 1939 | 222 |
| 1940 | 254 |
| 1941 | 346 |
| 1942 | 481 |
| 1943 | 455 |
| 1944 | 447 |
| 1945 | 575 |
| 1946 | 762 |
| 1947 | 979 |
| 1948 | 1,517 |
| 1949 | 2,612 |
| 1950 | 3,039 |
| 1951 | 3,350 |
| 1952 | 3,562 |
| 1953 | 3,627 |
| 1954 | 4,423 |
| 1955 | 4,967 |
| 1956 | 4,874 |
| 1957 | 4,717 |
| 1958 | 4,501 |
| 1959 | 5,726 |
| 1960 | 6,892 |
| 1961 | 7,167 |
| 1962 | 7,002 |
| 1963 | 7,354 |
| 1964 | 8,100 |
| 1965 | 10,506 |
| 1966 | 9,547 |
| 1967 | 11,258 |
| 1968 | 10,736 |
| 1969 | 10,651 |
| 1970 | 11,142 |
| 1971 | 10,097 |
| 1972 | 8,563 |
| 1973 | 7,840 |
| 1974 | 7,592 |
| 1975 | 7,503 |
| 1976 | 6,492 |
| 1977 | 5,792 |
| 1978 | 4,935 |
| 1979 | 4,526 |
| 1980 | 4,160 |
| 1981 | 3,632 |
| 1982 | 2,837 |
| 1983 | 2,399 |
| 1984 | 2,031 |
| 1985 | 1,796 |
| 1986 | 1,540 |
| 1987 | 1,371 |
| 1988 | 1,302 |
| 1989 | 1,359 |
| 1990 | 1,413 |
| 1991 | 1,367 |
| 1992 | 1,269 |
| 1993 | 1,272 |
| 1994 | 1,139 |
| 1995 | 1,047 |
| 1996 | 979 |
| 1997 | 913 |
| 1998 | 867 |
| 1999 | 905 |
| 2000 | 1,013 |
| 2001 | 1,263 |
| 2002 | 1,209 |
| 2003 | 1,093 |
| 2004 | 1,046 |
| 2005 | 901 |
| 2006 | 935 |
| 2007 | 864 |
| 2008 | 688 |
| 2009 | 600 |
| 2010 | 498 |
| 2011 | 424 |
| 2012 | 359 |
| 2013 | 395 |
| 2014 | 359 |
| 2015 | 288 |
| 2016 | 328 |
| 2017 | 230 |
| 2018 | 273 |
| 2019 | 222 |
| 2020 | 196 |
| 2021 | 196 |
| 2022 | 192 |
| 2023 | 176 |
| 2024 | 224 |
Wendy through the decades
- Wendy peaked in 1967, when 11,258 babies were named Wendy in the US.
- Over the last 10 years of data (2015–2024), use of Wendy has fallen 61% compared to the 10 years before that.
- Wendy currently ranks #1,097 in the US and is cooling off.
Nicknames
Wendy
Variants & spellings
Wenda