Wendy

Wendy: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “friend”
Origin: English
Say it: WEN-dee · 2 syllables
Used for: Girls

Popularized as a given name by J. M. Barrie's Wendy Darling in Peter Pan. Barrie likely adapted it from the nickname Fwendy, meaning 'friend,' though its prehistory is uncertain.

English names Modern names Literary names

How popular is Wendy?

202467.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Wendy in 2024224

2024 rank#1,096 girls

Peak year1967

Total US babies since 1880263,112

Wendy is fading: recent use is about 53% of its level ten years before.

Names like Wendy

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Wendifriend · English
Oliviaolive tree · English
Evelyndesired; little bird · English
Harperharp player · English
Violetviolet flower · English
Hazelhazel tree · English
Ellieshort form of names ending in -el or -ella · English
Lilylily flower · English

Wendy questions

What does the name Wendy mean?

Wendy means "friend". It comes from English. Popularized as a given name by J. M. Barrie's Wendy Darling in Peter Pan. Barrie likely adapted it from the nickname Fwendy, meaning 'friend,' though its prehistory is uncertain.

Is Wendy a boy or girl name?

Wendy is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Wendy?

224 US babies were named Wendy in 2024. Its peak year was 1967.

How do you pronounce Wendy?

Wendy is usually pronounced WEN-dee.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.