Wendle
A masculine name with Germanic origins meaning "Wanderer from foreign lands".
Name Census estimates that about 59 living Americans carry the first name Wendle. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wendle today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wendle births was 1952 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wendle. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Wendle is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Wendles were born before 1962.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wendle. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
59
~ 1 in 5,809,396 Americans
Peak year
1952
9 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1967 SSA rank
#4,536
Tracked since 1921
Census
Wendle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 143 people with the first name Wendle, which placed it at #46,519 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#46,519
National first-name rank
People counted
143
143 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wendle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wendle is White at 75.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Wendle described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Wendle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.5% · 108
- Black or African American16.1% · 23
- Two or more races2.8% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 2
Popularity
Wendle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wendle from the 1920s through to the 1960s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 39 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wendle 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 Wendle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wendle
The name Wendle is of Germanic origin, with roots dating back to the 5th century CE. It is derived from the Old High German word "windo," meaning "wind" or "wanderer." The name was initially used to describe someone who lived a nomadic lifestyle or traveled frequently.
During the Middle Ages, the name Wendle gained popularity in parts of central Europe, particularly in regions of modern-day Germany and Austria. It was often associated with individuals who embraced the freedom of the open road or those who pursued a life of adventure and exploration.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Wendle can be found in the Hildebrandslied, an Old High German heroic poem from the 8th century. The poem recounts the tale of a warrior named Wendle, who fought bravely in battles against invading forces.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Wendle von Rothenburg was a prominent knight and crusader who participated in the Third Crusade. He was renowned for his valor and courage on the battlefield, earning him a place in the annals of medieval European history.
During the Renaissance period, a Dutch scholar and philosopher named Wendle Heyting (1490-1567) made significant contributions to the field of logic and mathematics. His work on the foundations of mathematical reasoning and the development of intuitionistic logic had a lasting impact on modern mathematical thought.
In the 19th century, a German painter and printmaker named Wendle von Hausmann (1810-1884) gained recognition for his exquisite landscape paintings and etchings. His depictions of the German countryside and rural life captured the essence of the Romantic movement in art.
Another notable figure was Wendle Willkie (1892-1944), an American lawyer, businessman, and politician who ran for the presidency as the Republican nominee in 1940. Despite his eventual defeat, Willkie's campaign played a significant role in shaping the political landscape of the United States during the crucial years leading up to World War II.
People
Wendle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wendle 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
Wendle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wendle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 59 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wendle 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 5,809,396 US residents.
Is Wendle a common name?
We classify Wendle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 129 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wendle most popular?
The single biggest year for Wendle was 1952, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wendle is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Wendle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 143 people with the name Wendle, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,519 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Wendle in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Wendle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wendle leans strongly male. 127 people counted with this name were male (89.4%), compared with 15 female bearers (10.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Wendle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wendle is White at 75.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Wendle most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Wendle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.5% (108 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Wendle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wendle a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wendle in the SSA data are male. 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.
Is Wendle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wendle in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Wendle can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have Wendle as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Wendle on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.