Wendy

English, Celtic, Welsh

"friend or white"

Wendy Origin and Meaning

The name Wendy is a girl's name of English origin meaning "friend or white".

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.

Wendy Rank in US Top 1000

# 969 in the US

Wendy Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 275 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Wendy

• 969 US 2018
• 275 Nameberry 2025
• 97 Unique 2024
• 291 Mexico 2021

20 Names Similar to Wendy

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Wendy.

• Nancy
• Sally
• Gloria
• Jean
• Rita
• Ginny
• May
• Peggy
• Virginia
• Dora
• Barbara
• Joy
• Susan
• Joan
• Pamela
• Judy
• Connie
• Pauline
• Minnie
• Wanda

Famous People Named Wendy

• 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

The name 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"