Wynell
A feminine name derived from the Welsh elements "wyn" and "ell", meaning "fair" and "source".
Name Census estimates that about 290 living Americans carry the first name Wynell. It is a predominantly female name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Wynell today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wynell births was 1932 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wynell. 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 Wynell is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Wynells were born before 1960.
People living today
290
~ 1 in 1,181,912 Americans
Peak year
1932
41 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1977 SSA rank
#5,833
Tracked since 1913
Census
Wynell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 508 people with the first name Wynell, which placed it at #20,360 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
#20,360
National first-name rank
People counted
508
508 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wynell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wynell is White at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Wynell 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 Wynell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.6% · 333
- Black or African American28.9% · 147
- Two or more races2.2% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Wynell
Out of the 1,033 babies given the name Wynell since 1880, 99.4% 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.
Wynell as a male name
- Ranked #5,833 in 1977
- 6 male births in 1977
- Peak: 1977 (6 births)
Wynell as a female name
- Ranked #10,880 in 1976
- 5 female births in 1976
- Peak: 1932 (41 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wynell leans strongly female. 464 people counted with this name were female (91.9%), compared with 41 male bearers (8.1%).
Popularity
Wynell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wynell from the 1910s through to the 1970s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 335 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wynell 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 Wynell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wynells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Alabama, Texas, Georgia recorded the most babies named Wynell, while Tennessee, Florida, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 99 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wynell
The given name Wynell has its origins in the English language, with roots tracing back to the 16th century. It is believed to be a combination of the Old English words "wyn," meaning joy or pleasure, and "el," a diminutive suffix often used to create affectionate or endearing forms of names.
During the Tudor and Elizabethan eras in England, the name gained some popularity among the aristocracy and gentry. It was seen as a delightful and charming moniker, reflecting the joyous spirit associated with its meaning. Records from this period show the name being used primarily for female children, though occasional instances of it being given to males have also been documented.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wynell can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, where a Wynell Stratford was baptized in 1582. This particular record is significant as it provides a concrete example of the name's usage during the late 16th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Wynell. One such figure was Wynell Mayow (1592-1672), a prominent English lawyer and landowner from Oxfordshire. He played a role in the English Civil War, initially supporting the Royalist cause before later switching allegiances to the Parliamentarians.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Wynell Anstruther (1701-1789), a Scottish noblewoman and the wife of Sir John Anstruther, 3rd Baronet of Anstruther. She was known for her philanthropic efforts and her involvement in various charitable organizations in Edinburgh during the 18th century.
In the literary realm, Wynell Mayow (1861-1935), an English novelist and playwright, achieved some recognition for her works, which often explored themes of social class and gender dynamics in Victorian and Edwardian England. Her most celebrated novel, "The Palliser Case," was published in 1897.
The name Wynell also found its way into the annals of American history with Wynell Burroughs Marshburn (1909-1997), a prominent educator and civil rights activist from North Carolina. She dedicated her life to promoting equal educational opportunities for African American students and played a pivotal role in the desegregation of schools in her home state.
Lastly, Wynell Custis (1920-2005), an American dancer and choreographer, left an indelible mark on the world of modern dance. She founded the Wynell Custis Dance Company in New York City and was renowned for her innovative and groundbreaking choreographic works, which often explored themes of social justice and racial identity.
People
Wynell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wynell 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
Wynell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wynell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 290 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wynell 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 1,181,912 US residents.
Is Wynell a common name?
We classify Wynell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,033 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wynell most popular?
The single biggest year for Wynell was 1932, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wynell is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Wynell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 508 people with the name Wynell, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,360 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 Wynell 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 Wynell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wynell leans strongly female. 464 people counted with this name were female (91.9%), compared with 41 male bearers (8.1%). 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 Wynell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wynell is White at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Wynell most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Wynell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.6% (333 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 Wynell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wynell a female name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Wynell 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 Wynell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wynell 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 Wynell 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 the name Wynell?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Wynell, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.