Wynee
Uncommon name, likely a variant spelling of the French name Winnie meaning "fair one".
Name Census estimates that about 68 living Americans carry the first name Wynee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Wynee today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wynee births was 1961 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wynee. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wynee. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
68
~ 1 in 5,040,505 Americans
Peak year
1961
16 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1982 SSA rank
#10,490
Tracked since 1960
Census
Wynee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 128 people with the first name Wynee, which placed it at #49,019 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
#49,019
National first-name rank
People counted
128
128 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
40.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wynee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wynee is Black at 40.6%. The next largest groups are White (22.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (19.5%). 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 Wynee 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 Wynee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American40.6% · 52
- White22.7% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander19.5% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino14.1% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 2
- Two or more races1.6% · 2
Popularity
Wynee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wynee from the 1960s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 77 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
Wynee 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 Wynee 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 Wynee
The given name Wynee has its origins in the ancient Germanic language of Proto-Germanic, which was spoken by the Germanic peoples across northern and central Europe from around the 5th century BC to the 1st century AD. The name is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "winiz," meaning "friend" or "comrade." It was a popular name among the various Germanic tribes, including the Goths, Vandals, and Franks.
In the early Middle Ages, the name Wynee began to appear in various historical records and manuscripts across Europe. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in the Codex Argenteus, a 6th-century manuscript containing a translation of the Bible into the Gothic language. The manuscript mentions a Gothic chieftain named Wynee, who led his people during their migration from the Black Sea region to the Iberian Peninsula.
During the 8th and 9th centuries, the name Wynee gained popularity among the Frankish nobility. One notable figure was Wynee of Riom (c. 760-830), a Frankish nobleman and military commander who served under Charlemagne. He is mentioned in several contemporary chronicles for his role in the conquest of the Duchy of Bavaria.
In the 11th century, the name Wynee appeared in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, an important historical record of the Anglo-Saxon period in England. The chronicle mentions a Saxon thegn named Wynee, who fought alongside King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Another prominent figure with the name Wynee was Wynee of Malmesbury (c. 1095-1142), an English historian and Benedictine monk who wrote the influential work "Gesta Regum Anglorum" (Deeds of the English Kings). His chronicle provides valuable insights into the Norman conquest of England and the reigns of the early Norman kings.
In the 12th century, a French nobleman named Wynee de Montfort (c. 1170-1218) played a significant role in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathar heretics in southern France. He was known for his military prowess and his ruthless tactics in suppressing the Cathar rebellion.
Throughout history, the name Wynee has been borne by numerous individuals from various backgrounds and cultures, reflecting its enduring popularity and the diverse influences that have shaped its meaning and significance over time.
People
Wynee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wynee 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
Wynee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wynee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 68 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wynee 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 5,040,505 US residents.
Is Wynee a common name?
We classify Wynee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 83 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wynee most popular?
The single biggest year for Wynee was 1961, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wynee is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Wynee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 128 people with the name Wynee, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,019 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 Wynee 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 Wynee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wynee appears almost entirely female. Of the 128 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Wynee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wynee is Black at 40.6%. The next largest groups are White (22.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (19.5%). 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 Wynee most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Wynee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.6% (52 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 Wynee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wynee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wynee 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.
Is Wynee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wynee 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 Wynee 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 Americans are named Wynee?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.