girls' name ★ peaked 1967

Wendy

Meaning Wendy is a Welsh feminine given name Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,347 Trend ↓ Falling 15%

Wendy is a Welsh feminine given name.

Rank 2025
#1,347
among girls · ↓250 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
165
named Wendy · -27% vs 2024
How common
1 in 9,741
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1967
11,259 babies
All-time total
263,276
#156 all-time among girls
First recorded
1918
in Social Security records

Wendy popularity over time

263,276 babies have been named Wendy since 1918, 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
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

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 – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s 5 – 5 1 – #5,562
1920s 45 – 45 5 +800% #2,336
1930s 583 – 583 58 +1196% #451
1940s 8,423 5 8,428 843 +1346% #122
1950s 42,675 111 42,786 4,279 +408% #83
1960s 88,963 249 89,212 8,921 +109% #29
1970s 74,185 296 74,481 7,448 -17% #28
1980s 22,268 158 22,426 2,243 -70% #75
1990s 11,080 92 11,172 1,117 -50% #206
2000s 9,577 35 9,612 961 -14% #253
2010s 3,371 5 3,376 338 -65% #591
2020s (to 2025) 1,150 – 1,150 192 -43% #1,097

Where Wendy is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (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 girls Implied rank
2026 160 0.10 outside top 500
2027 155 0.10 outside top 500
2028 152 0.09 outside top 500
2029 149 0.09 outside top 500
2030 146 0.09 outside top 500

Where Wendy is most popular

Girls named Wendy per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.118 per 1,000. Strongest in Washington, California, and Utah.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Wendy 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 Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Washington 39 0.270 +130%
California 154 0.183 +56%
Utah 14 0.168 +43%
Georgia 37 0.163 +39%
Tennessee 25 0.158 +34%
Virginia 26 0.153 +30%
New York 56 0.141 +20%
Texas 100 0.124 +6%
Arizona 17 0.121 ≈ national
Mississippi 5 0.107 -9%
North Carolina 24 0.105 -10%
Florida 45 0.105 -11%
Maryland 11 0.104 -12%
Colorado 11 0.099 -16%
Illinois 18 0.079 -33%
Wisconsin 7 0.068 -42%
Ohio 16 0.067 -43%
New Jersey 12 0.066 -43%
Kentucky 5 0.058 -50%
Missouri 7 0.058 -51%
Michigan 10 0.055 -53%
Indiana 6 0.043 -64%
Pennsylvania 5 0.021 -82%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Wendy

Wendy is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,347 in 2025 with 165 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1918, 263,276 American babies have been named Wendy. Its peak came in 1967, when 11,259 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1960s.

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 Wendy stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Wendy?

The median living Wendy is about 56 years old; half are between 48 and 62. An estimated 240 thousand people named Wendy are alive in the United States today.

median 56 020406080100

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

Wendy 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 165 #1,347 – –
2024 225 #1,097 – –
2023 176 #1,301 – –
2022 192 #1,255 – –
2021 196 #1,214 – –
2020 196 #1,188 – –
2019 222 #1,107 – –
2018 273 #970 – –
2017 230 #1,101 – –
2016 328 #860 – –
2015 288 #944 – –
2014 359 #782 – –
2013 395 #708 – –
2012 359 #769 – –
2011 419 #676 5 #14,239
2010 498 #591 – –
2009 600 #504 – –
2008 688 #461 – –
2007 864 #382 – –
2006 930 #355 5 #13,937
2005 901 #350 – –
2004 1,039 #308 7 #9,897
2003 1,087 #286 6 #10,841
2002 1,209 #261 – –
2001 1,255 #253 8 #8,307
2000 1,004 #317 9 #7,382
1995 1,039 #265 8 #6,968
1990 1,397 #206 16 #3,770
1985 1,781 #162 15 #3,213
1980 4,141 #75 19 #2,613
1975 7,473 #33 30 #1,702
1970 11,100 #28 42 #1,296
1965 10,481 #39 25 #1,594
1960 6,870 #63 21 #1,810
1955 4,955 #90 12 #2,429
1950 3,030 #114 9 #2,764
1945 575 #290 – –
1940 254 #428 – –
1935 27 #1,447 – –
1930 17 #2,106 – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Wendy

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

  1. 1 Wendy Williams Wendy Williams American media personality and television host (born 1964) Contemporary
  2. 2 Wendy Carlos American composer and electronic musician (born 1939) Contemporary
  3. 3 Wendy Crewson Wendy Crewson Canadian actress (born 1956) Contemporary
  4. 4 Wendy O. Williams Wendy O. Williams American singer (1949–1998) Contemporary
  5. 5 Wendy Richard Wendy Richard British actress (1943–2009) Contemporary
  6. 6 Wendy Schaal Wendy Schaal American actress (born 1954) Contemporary
  7. 7 Wendy Makkena American actress b. 1958 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Wendy Wendy South Korean singer (born 1994) Contemporary
  9. 9 Wendy Hiller Wendy Hiller English stage and film actress (1912–2003) Contemporary
  10. 10 Wendy Barrie Wendy Barrie British actress (1912–1978) Contemporary
  11. 11 Wendy Beckett Wendy Beckett British Catholic nun and art historian (1930–2018) Contemporary
  12. 12 Wendy B. Lawrence Wendy B. Lawrence American astronaut and Navy captain (born 1959) Contemporary
  13. 13 Wendy Holdener Wendy Holdener Swiss alpine skier (born 1993) Contemporary
  14. 14 Wendy Turnbull Australian tennis player b. 1952 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Wendy Freedman Wendy Freedman Canadian-American astronomer b. 1957 · Contemporary
  16. 16 Wendy Houvenaghel Wendy Houvenaghel Northern Irish former racing cyclist b. 1974 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Wendy?

The median living Wendy is about 56 years old. Half of all living Wendys are between 48 and 62 years old.

How many people named Wendy are alive today?

An estimated 240 thousand people named Wendy are alive in the United States, based on 263,276 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Wendy mean?

Wendy is a Welsh feminine given name.

How popular is the name Wendy in 2025?

Wendy ranked #1,347 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 165 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Wendy?

263,276 babies have been named Wendy in the United States since 1918, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Wendy most popular?

Wendy peaked in 1967, when 11,259 newborns received the name.

Is Wendy a boy or girl name?

Wendy is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Wendy rising or falling?

Wendy is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Wendy become more popular?

Wendy is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 146 girls named Wendy in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Wendy?

Well-known people named Wendy include Wendy Williams (presenter), Wendy Carlos (musician), Wendy Crewson (actor).

Names like Wendy

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

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