Wendy
About Wendy
It is popularly claimed that the name Wendy was invented by Sir James Barrie in 1904 for the big sister character in his play Peter Pan, which was followed by the classic novel in 1911. Barrie supposedly took it from the nickname "fwendy-wendy", that he was called by a young girl acquaintance.
Although the character of Wendy Darling undoubtedly popularized the name across the English-speaking world – peaking in the Top 10 in several countries in the 1950s and 60s – it did actually appear rarely before that. It was likely derived from the Welsh name Gwendolen and its variants.
Wendy's heyday was once upon a time, but it's starting to undergo a style revolution. With other bouncy and peppy retro nicknames, like Sadie and Edie, rising, Wendy could be part of the next wave.
Pronounced WEN-dee.
As of October 2026, Wendy ranked #1347 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #28 in 1970, Nameberry popularity #390.
Editor's take: The name Wendy is a girl's name of English origin meaning "friend or white".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #782 | 359 | 201 |
| 2015 | #944 | 288 | 161.3 |
| 2016 | #860 | 328 | 185.1 |
| 2017 | #1,101 | 230 | 133.2 |
| 2018 | #970 | 273 | 160.5 |
| 2019 | #1,107 | 222 | 132.3 |
| 2020 | #1,187 | 196 | 121.2 |
| 2021 | #1,214 | 196 | 119.4 |
| 2022 | #1,255 | 192 | 117.1 |
| 2023 | #1,301 | 176 | 109.7 |
| 2024 | #1,097 | 224 | 138.3 |
| 2025 | #1,347 | 165 | 102.7 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Wendy.
- Gloria
- Nancy
- Sally
- Jean
- Rita
- Dora
- Virginia
- Shoshannah
- Ginny
- Georgienne
- Joan
- May
- Peggy
- Kitty
- Betsy
- Andretta
- Penny
- Dorethea
- Minnie
- Dinah
Wendy on lists
Famous Wendys
- Wendy Turnbull
Australian tennis player
- Wendy Mass
American novelist
- Wendy Davis
American actress
- Wendy Jean (Russell) Davis
American politician
- Wendy Richard
English actress
- Wendy Joan Williams
American TV personality
- Wendy Wilson
American singer of Wilson Phillips; sister of Carnie Wilson and daughter of Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson
- Wendy Beckett
British nun and art historian
- Wendy Fitzwilliam
Trinidadian beauty queen, Miss Universe 1998, third African winner
- Wendy Cheng aka XiaXue
Singaporean blogger
- Wendy Drennen
lead singer of American Christian rock band Fireflight
- Wendy Margaret Hiller
English actress
- Wendy Carlos (born Walter Carlos)
American composer
- Wendy Wasserstein
American playwright
- Melinda Lou "Wendy" Thomas
Morse, American namesake and spokeswoman for Wendy's restaurants
- Wendy Jane Crewson
Canadian actress
- Wendy McElroy
Canadian feminist and magazine editor
- Wendy Cope
English poet
- Wendy Brown
American political scientist
- Wenda "Wendy" Vereen
American sprinter
- Wendy Bruce
American Olympic gymnast
- Wendy
stage name of Shon Seung,wan, Canadian,Korean singer of girl group Red Velvet
Wendy in pop culture
- Wendy Testaburger
character in "South Park"
- Wendy Beauchamp
character in “Witches of East End” Lifetime TV Series
- Wendy Williams
character in "South Park"
- Wendy Moira Angela Darling
character in J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan"
- Wendy Marvell
character in the anime "Fairy Tail"
- Wendy Corduroy
character in animated TV series "Gravity Falls"
- Wendy Simms
character on TV's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
- Wendy
character on TV's "Into the Dark"
- "Wendy and Lucy
" 2008 movie
- Wendy Christensen
character in movie "Final Destination 3"
- "Wendy
" song by The Beach Boys
- Wendy Luella Everly
main character in the "Trylle Trilogy" by Amanda Hocking
- Wendy's
American fast food chain
- Wendy Carr
character in "Mindhunter"
- Wendy Carter
character in video game “Don’t Starve”