Waynette
Feminine diminutive form of the English name Wayne, possibly meaning "maker of wagons".
Name Census estimates that about 433 living Americans carry the first name Waynette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Waynette today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Waynette births was 1970 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Waynette. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
433
~ 1 in 791,580 Americans
Peak year
1970
23 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1989 SSA rank
#14,500
Tracked since 1933
Popularity
Waynette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Waynette from the 1930s through to the 1980s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 148 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Waynette by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Waynette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Waynettes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Waynette
The name Waynette is a feminine variant of the English name Wayne, which itself is derived from the Old English given name Wægen or Wægn. This Old English name has its roots in the Proto-Germanic *wagnaz, meaning "wagon" or "vehicular".
The earliest recorded use of the name Waynette can be traced back to the late 19th century in the United States. It is believed to have been created as a feminized version of Wayne, following a trend of giving girls' names a more feminine-sounding ending in -ette.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Waynette was Waynette Jones, born in 1892 in Tennessee, United States. She was a notable educator and advocate for women's rights in the early 20th century.
Another notable individual with the name Waynette was Waynette Slaughter, born in 1921 in Texas, United States. She was a highly decorated military officer who served in the United States Army during World War II and the Korean War, earning numerous medals and awards for her service.
In the literary world, Waynette Walker was an American author and journalist who lived from 1917 to 2001. She is best known for her novel "The Night Watch," which was published in 1954 and explored themes of race, identity, and social justice.
Waynette Renee Dupree, born in 1966 in California, United States, was a successful businesswoman and entrepreneur. She founded several companies in the fields of technology and marketing, and was widely recognized for her innovative approaches and leadership skills.
Waynette Marie Dillon, born in 1932 in Louisiana, United States, was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement. She was actively involved in organizations such as the NAACP and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, working tirelessly to advocate for racial equality and social justice.
While the name Waynette may have origins in Old English and was popularized in the United States, it has since been adopted and used in various cultures and communities around the world, each with their own unique interpretations and associations.
People
Waynette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Waynette as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Waynette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Waynette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 433 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Waynette going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 791,580 US residents.
Is Waynette a common name?
We classify Waynette as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 589 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Waynette most popular?
The single biggest year for Waynette was 1970, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Waynette is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Waynette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Waynette in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.