boys' name ★ peaked 1940

Wendell

Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #2,165 Trend ↑ Rising 14%

Wendell is an alternate spelling of Wendel, a surname of Germanic origin.

Rank 2025
#2,165
among boys · ↓109 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
67
named Wendell · -9% vs 2024
How common
1 in 25,494
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1940
1,650 babies
All-time total
54,330
#484 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Wendell popularity over time

54,330 babies have been named Wendell since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 83 83 8 – #481
1890s – 182 182 18 +119% #391
1900s – 366 366 37 +101% #271
1910s 9 3,431 3,440 344 +840% #213
1920s 63 6,226 6,289 629 +83% #205
1930s 49 6,217 6,266 627 0% #194
1940s 120 8,378 8,498 850 +36% #114
1950s 134 9,904 10,038 1,004 +18% #218
1960s 141 8,968 9,109 911 -9% #227
1970s 26 3,714 3,740 374 -59% #346
1980s 20 2,615 2,635 264 -30% #474
1990s – 1,555 1,555 156 -41% #680
2000s – 904 904 90 -42% #1,266
2010s 5 731 736 74 -19% #1,738
2020s (to 2025) – 489 489 82 +11% #1,692

Where Wendell is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 68 0.04 outside top 500
2027 68 0.04 outside top 500
2028 69 0.04 outside top 500
2029 69 0.04 outside top 500
2030 69 0.04 outside top 500

Where Wendell is most popular

Boys named Wendell per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.049 per 1,000. Strongest in Minnesota, Georgia, and Tennessee.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Wendell born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Minnesota 20 0.163 +234%
Georgia 16 0.063 +29%
Tennessee 11 0.061 +25%
Kentucky 5 0.050 ≈ national
South Carolina 5 0.048 ≈ national
Indiana 6 0.037 -23%
Virginia 7 0.037 -24%
Missouri 5 0.036 -26%
Michigan 7 0.034 -30%
Texas 23 0.026 -47%
North Carolina 6 0.023 -52%
Illinois 5 0.020 -60%
Ohio 5 0.019 -61%
California 17 0.019 -62%
Florida 5 0.011 -78%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
New York – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Wendell

Wendell is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #2,165 in 2025 with 67 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 54,330 American babies have been named Wendell. Its peak came in 1940, when 1,650 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1940s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Wendell stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Wendell?

The median living Wendell is about 63 years old; half are between 50 and 72. An estimated 30 thousand people named Wendell are alive in the United States today.

median 63 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Wendell year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 67 #2,165
2024 – – 74 #2,056
2023 – – 101 #1,692
2022 – – 96 #1,749
2021 – – 84 #1,852
2020 – – 67 #2,112
2019 5 #17,847 78 #1,914
2018 – – 76 #1,958
2017 – – 76 #1,916
2016 – – 90 #1,738
2015 – – 76 #1,929
2014 – – 79 #1,872
2013 – – 71 #1,963
2012 – – 72 #1,981
2011 – – 52 #2,436
2010 – – 61 #2,186
2009 – – 73 #1,958
2008 – – 88 #1,735
2007 – – 79 #1,847
2006 – – 96 #1,550
2005 – – 84 #1,634
2004 – – 93 #1,476
2003 – – 90 #1,465
2002 – – 108 #1,266
2001 – – 94 #1,366
2000 – – 99 #1,313
1995 – – 160 #859
1990 – – 222 #680
1985 – – 248 #562
1980 5 #12,116 317 #474
1975 6 #9,043 323 #442
1970 – – 537 #350
1965 10 #4,486 862 #254
1960 11 #4,173 1,147 #238
1955 12 #3,569 966 #229
1950 12 #3,230 842 #218
1945 10 #3,127 587 #229
1940 25 #1,589 1,625 #114
1935 6 #4,189 655 #194
1930 7 #4,029 672 #202
1925 7 #4,417 682 #205
1920 11 #3,087 544 #232
1915 – – 490 #213
1910 – – 69 #301
1905 – – 31 #383
1900 – – 30 #418
1895 – – 23 #413
1890 – – 11 #628
1885 – – 9 #695
1880 – – 6 #904

Famous people named Wendell

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Wendell Pierce Wendell Pierce American actor (born 1962) b. 1963 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Wendell Willkie Wendell Willkie American lawyer and corporate executive (1892–1944) 19th century
  3. 3 Wendell Corey Wendell Corey American actor and politician (1914–1968) Contemporary
  4. 4 Wendell Ford Wendell Ford American politician (1924–2015) Contemporary
  5. 5 Wendell R. Anderson Wendell R. Anderson American hockey player and politician (1933–2016) Contemporary
  6. 6 Wendell Meredith Stanley Wendell Meredith Stanley American biochemist, virologist, and Nobel laureate (1904–1971) Contemporary
  7. 7 Wendell Brown Inventor, United States b. 1961 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Wendell Topics referred to by the same term b. 1993 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Wendell, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Wendell?

The median living Wendell is about 63 years old. Half of all living Wendells are between 50 and 72 years old.

How many people named Wendell are alive today?

An estimated 30 thousand people named Wendell are alive in the United States, based on 54,330 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Wendell mean?

Wendell is an alternate spelling of Wendel, a surname of Germanic origin.

How popular is the name Wendell in 2025?

Wendell ranked #2,165 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 67 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Wendell?

54,330 babies have been named Wendell in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Wendell most popular?

Wendell peaked in 1940, when 1,650 newborns received the name.

Is Wendell a boy or girl name?

Wendell is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Wendell rising or falling?

Wendell is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Wendell become more popular?

Wendell looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 69 boys named Wendell in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Wendell?

Well-known people named Wendell include Wendell Pierce (actor), Wendell Willkie (lawyer), Wendell Corey (actor).

Names like Wendell

Names that sound and feel close to Wendell: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Wendell with similar names → More names starting with W →