Recorded 1918–2025 · United States
Wendy was most popular in 1967, when 11,259 American babies were given the name — ranking #65 that year. In 2025 it ranked #2,520, with 165 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 263,276 people named Wendy.
Wendy first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1918, which makes it about 107 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 102 of the 108 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 263,276 American births named Wendy between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 237,808 are estimated to be alive today.
165 American babies were named Wendy in 2025, ranking #2,520 that year.
Wendy is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 191 births a year, against 365 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -48% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Wendy is a girl’s name — 99.6% of the 263,276 Americans given it were girls and 0.4% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 237,808 Americans named Wendy are alive today — 90% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 57 years old, and half are between 49 and 63.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
English · coined by J. M. Barrie for Peter Pan
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Wendy on the interactive charts
About · Privacy · Contact
Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org