Wende
A German feminine name of uncertain meaning, possibly derived from "wenden" meaning "to turn".
Name Census estimates that about 1,110 living Americans carry the first name Wende. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Wende today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wende births was 1967 (139 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wende. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 308,788 Americans
Peak year
1967
139 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1990 SSA rank
#15,193
Tracked since 1943
Popularity
Wende: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wende from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 595 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wende 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 Wende during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wendes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Wende, while Wisconsin, Virginia, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wende
The name Wende has its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically in Old High German. It is derived from the word "wend," which means "to turn" or "to change direction." The name likely emerged during the medieval period, around the 8th to 12th centuries.
In its earliest usage, the name Wende was associated with the Wendish people, a Slavic ethnic group that inhabited parts of what is now eastern Germany and western Poland. The name may have been used to refer to someone who had changed their allegiance or converted to a different faith or way of life.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wende is in the Annals of Fulda, a medieval chronicle that covers events from the 7th to the 11th century. The Annals mention a nobleman named Wende who participated in a military campaign against the Moravians in the year 869.
In the 12th century, a German abbess named Wende von Hornbach (born around 1135) was known for her piety and leadership of the Hornbach Abbey in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. She is said to have played a significant role in the spiritual and cultural life of the region during her time.
During the Renaissance period, a German humanist and theologian named Wende Dietrich (1460-1519) gained recognition for his scholarly works and translations of classical Greek texts. He was a professor at the University of Wittenberg and is considered a precursor to the Reformation movement.
In the 17th century, a Swedish military commander named Wende Gottfried von Bauersfeld (1602-1672) distinguished himself in various battles during the Thirty Years' War. He was appointed as a Field Marshal and played a crucial role in the Swedish invasion of Denmark.
Another notable figure with the name Wende was Wende Hildebrandt (1819-1890), a German painter known for her portraits and genre scenes. She studied under prominent artists of her time and exhibited her works at various exhibitions in Berlin and other German cities.
While the name Wende has its roots in the Germanic languages, its usage has been relatively limited throughout history. However, it holds significance as a name with a connection to the Wendish people and the concepts of change and transformation.
People
Wende + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wende 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
Wende: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wende?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,110 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wende 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 308,788 US residents.
Is Wende a common name?
We classify Wende as "Rare". It ranks above 90.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,377 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wende most popular?
The single biggest year for Wende was 1967, when 139 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wende is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wende a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wende 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.