Meaning and history
In J. M. Barrie’s play Peter Pan (1904), the character Wendy was named from the nickname fwendy, meaning “friend,” which a young friend had given Barrie. The name had been used only rarely before the play, when it may have been connected to the Welsh name Gwendolen and other names beginning with gwen, meaning “white” or “blessed.” It became common only after Barrie’s play was performed.
20062006: 930 births, rank #355
2007: 864 births, rank #381
2008: 688 births, rank #460
2009: 600 births, rank #503
2010: 498 births, rank #589
20112011: 419 births, rank #674
2012: 359 births, rank #768
2013: 395 births, rank #707
2014: 359 births, rank #780
2015: 288 births, rank #941
20162016: 328 births, rank #858
2017: 230 births, rank #1,098
2018: 273 births, rank #968
2019: 222 births, rank #1,103
2020: 196 births, rank #1,183
20212021: 196 births, rank #1,211
2022: 192 births, rank #1,251
2023: 176 births, rank #1,300
2024: 225 births, rank #1,095
20252025: 165 births, rank #1,341
Wendy moved from #860 to #970 for girls between 2016 and 2018. Its highest annual birth count came in 1967, with 11,223 births.