Wendy
Feminine name of English origin meaning "wanderer".
Name Census estimates that about 220,971 living Americans carry the first name Wendy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Wendy today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wendy births was 1967 (11,258 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wendy. 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
- • Although Wendy is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 951 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1960s, recent registration numbers for Wendy have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
221K
~ 1 in 1,551 Americans
Peak year
1967
11,258 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
2011 SSA rank
#1,097
Tracked since 1918
Gender
Gender distribution for Wendy
Out of the 263,112 babies given the name Wendy since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Wendy as a male name
- Ranked #14,239 in 2011
- 5 male births in 2011
- Peak: 1970 (42 births)
Wendy as a female name
- Ranked #1,097 in 2024
- 224 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1967 (11,222 births)
Popularity
Wendy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wendy from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 89,213 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
Wendy 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 Wendy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wendys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Wendy, while Alaska, Wyoming, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5,097 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wendy
The name Wendy is derived from the Germanic root name Wendelin, which is a combination of the elements "wend" meaning "wanderer" and the diminutive suffix "-lin". This root name was popular among medieval Germanic tribes and was later adopted by the English.
The name Wendy first appeared in literary form in the early 20th century. It was coined by the Scottish novelist and playwright J.M. Barrie for the character of Wendy Darling in his 1904 play "Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up". Barrie is said to have derived the name from the nickname "Fwendy" used by a young friend to pronounce the word "friendly".
Prior to Barrie's play, the name Wendy was virtually unknown in English-speaking countries. Its popularity skyrocketed after the success of "Peter Pan", with many parents naming their daughters Wendy in honor of the beloved fictional character.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Wendy outside of literature was Wendy Wood (1892-1981), an English actress and dancer who performed in London's West End theaters. Another notable early bearer of the name was Wendy Hiller (1912-2003), an Academy Award-winning English actress known for her roles in films such as "Pygmalion" and "Murder on the Orient Express".
In the realm of politics, Wendy Davis (born 1963) is an American former state senator from Texas who gained national attention for her 11-hour filibuster in 2013 to block restrictive abortion legislation.
In the world of sports, Wendy Turnbull (born 1952) is a former Australian professional tennis player who won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and reached the singles semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open.
Wendy O. Williams (1949-1998) was an American singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the punk rock band Plasmatics, who was renowned for her outrageous stage presence and confrontational performance style.
People
Wendy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wendy 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
Wendy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wendy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 220,971 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wendy 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 1,551 US residents.
Is Wendy a common name?
We classify Wendy as "Common". It ranks above 99.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 263,112 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wendy most popular?
The single biggest year for Wendy was 1967, when 11,258 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wendy is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wendy a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Wendy 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.