Wendy is a given name now generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain, Wendy appeared as a masculine name in a parish record in 1615. It was also used as a surname in Britain from at least the 17th century. Its popularity in Britain as a feminine name is owed to the character

Wendy Darling Wendy Moira Angela Darling is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of the 1904 play and 1911 novel ''Peter and Wendy'' by J. M. Barrie, as well as in most adaptations in other media. Her exact age is not specified in the origin ...

from the 1904 play ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

'' and its 1911 novelisation ''

Peter and Wendy ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' or ''Peter and Wendy'', often known simply as ''Peter Pan'', is a work by J. M. Barrie, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous l ...

'' by

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

. Its popularity reached a peak in the 1960s, and subsequently declined. The name was inspired by young

Margaret Henley Margaret Emma Henley (4 September 1888 – 11 February 1894) was the daughter of William Ernest Henley and his wife Anna Henley (née Boyle). Margaret's friendship with J. M. Barrie, whom she called "fwendy" (i.e., "friendy"), was the inspiration ...

, daughter of Barrie's poet friend

W. E. Henley William Ernest Henley (23 August 184911 July 1903) was an English poet, writer, critic and editor. Though he wrote several books of poetry, Henley is remembered most often for his 1875 poem "Invictus". A fixture in London literary circles, the o ...

. With the common childhood difficulty pronouncing ''R''s, Margaret reportedly used to call him "my fwiendy-wendy". In Germany after 1986, the name Wendy became popular because it is the name of a

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

(targeted specifically at young girls) about horses and horse riding.

People

Business and politics

* Wendy Davis, American politician * Wendi Deng, Chinese-born American businesswoman * Wendy Morgan, Guernsey politician * Wendy Thomas (born 1961), daughter of fast food chain Wendy's founder Dave Thomas and the company's namesake * Wendy Thomas (politician) (born 1958 or 1959), New Hampshire state representative

Film, theatre, television, and radio

* Wendy Beckett (1930–2018), British religious sister and art historian *

Wendy Bergen Wendy Anne Bergen (January 3, 1956 – April 26, 2017) was a double Emmy award-winning television journalist. Bergen was raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, and graduated from the University of Utah. She began her television career as a weather r ...

(1956–2017), American television journalist *

Wendy Craig Anne Gwendolyn "Wendy" Craig (born 20 June 1934) is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms '' Not in Front of the Children'', '' ...And Mother Makes Three'', '' ...And Mother Makes Five'' and ''Butterflies''. ...

(born 1934), English actress * Wendy Davis (born 1966), American actress * Wendy Greengross (1925–2012), English general practitioner and broadcaster *

Wendy Hiller Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller, (15 August 1912 – 14 May 2003) was an English film and stage actress who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly 60 years. Writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation ''Rating the Movie Stars'', desc ...

(1912–2003), English actress * Wendy Hoopes (born 1972), Malaysian American voice actress * Wendy Kaufman (born 1958), American television personality *

Wendie Malick Wendie Malick (born December 13, 1950) is an American actress and former fashion model, known for her roles in various television comedies. She starred as Judith Tupper Stone in the HBO sitcom '' Dream On'', and as Nina Van Horn in the NBC si ...

(born 1950), American actress and former fashion model * Wendy Mesley (born 1957), Canadian television journalist and reporter * Wendy Morgan, English actress * Wendy Morgan, Canadian film director *

Wendy Padbury Wendy Padbury (born 7 December 1947) is a British actress and former talent agent. She has appeared in television series since 1966, including as Zoe Heriot, a companion to Patrick Troughton's Doctor in ''Doctor Who'', from 1968 to 1969. Earl ...

(born 1947), English actress * Wendi Peters (born 1968), English actress * Wendy Phillips (born 1952), American actress * Wendy Richard (1943–2009), English actress *

Wendy Robie Wendy Robie is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Nadine Hurley in David Lynch's television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991) and the prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992). She also starred in two of Wes Cra ...

(born 1953), American actress * Wendy Raquel Robinson (born 1967), American actress * Wendie Jo Sperber (1958–2005), American actress * Wendy Schaal (born 1954), American actress * Wendy Stites (born 1949), Australian production and costume designer *

Wendy Tilby Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis are a Canadian animation duo. On January 24, 2012, they received their second Oscar nomination, for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) animated short film, '' Wild Life'' (2011). With their latest film, ''The ...

(born 1960), Canadian animator and director * Wendy Toye (1917–2010), English director and actress * Wendy Williams (1934–2019), English actress * Wendy Williams (born 1964), American television and radio presenter, businesswoman, author, actress and media personality * Wendy O. Williams (1949-1998), American singer and former member of

Plasmatics The Plasmatics were an American punk rock, hardcore punk and heavy metal band formed by Rod Swenson and Wendy O. Williams in New York City in 1977. They were a controversial group known for chaotic, destructive live shows and outrageous theat ...

Sports

* Wendy Brown (heptathlete), American heptathlete *

Wendy Cruz Wendy Ramón Cruz Martínez (born 7 March 1976 in Santiago de los Caballeros) is a former professional cyclist from the Dominican Republic. Nicknamed ''El Ciclon'' he won the gold medal in the men's individual road race at the 2007 Pan American ...

, Dominican Republic cyclist * Wendy Fuller, Canadian diver *

Wendy Holdener Wendy Holdener (born 12 May 1993) is a Swiss World Cup alpine ski racer who specialises in slalom and combined. She is a two-time World champion in combined and a five-time Olympic medalist, four individual with one gold medal in the team even ...

, Swiss alpine skier *

Wendy Lucero Wendy Lucero-Schayes (born June 26, 1963 in Denver, Colorado) is a retired female diver from the United States, who competed for her native country at the 1988 Summer Olympics. A native of Denver, CO who attended Southern Illinois University, ...

, American diver *

Wendie Renard Wendie Thérèse Renard (born 20 July 1990) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back and captains both Division 1 Féminine club Lyon and the France national team. Renard is one of the most decorated players in modern wome ...

, French football player * Wendy Richter, American wrestler *

Wendy Vereen Wenda "Wendy" Vereen (born April 24, 1966) is an American former track and field sprint (running), sprinter who specialized in the 100 metres, 100 and 200-meter dashes. She was the top ranked national runner in high school in 1983 and 1984. She s ...

(born 1966), American former sprinter *

Wendy Weinberg Wendy Weinberg (now Wendy Weinberg Weil; born June 27, 1958) is an American former competition swimmer who was an Olympic Games, Pan American Games, and Maccabiah Games medalist. Swimming career At the 1973 Maccabiah Games in Israel, she won a ...

, American Olympic medalist swimmer * Wendy Wyland (1964-2003), American diver

Arts

Wendy Bagwell Wendell Lee "Wendy" Bagwell (May 16, 1925 – June 13, 1996) was the founding member and leader of the Southern gospel music and comedy trio Wendy Bagwell and the Sunliters. Early years The son of Cajer and Arza Bagwell, Bagwell was born in Cham ...

(1925–1996), founding member and leader of the Southern gospel music and comedy trio Wendy Bagwell and the Sunliters *

Wendy Carlos Wendy Carlos (born Walter Carlos, November 14, 1939) is an American musician and composer best known for her electronic music and film scores. Born and raised in Rhode Island, Carlos studied physics and music at Brown University before moving ...

, American composer *

Wendy Chung Wendy K. Chung is an American clinical and molecular geneticist and physician. She currently directs the clinical genetics program at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital / Columbia University Medical Center in New York City and serves as the Kenne ...

, Hong Kong pop and C-Pop lyricist *

Wendy Cope Wendy Cope (born 21 July 1945) is a contemporary English poet. She read history at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She now lives in Ely, Cambridgeshire, with her husband, the poet Lachlan Mackinnon. Biography Cope was born in Erith in Kent (no ...

, English poet * Wendy Davies, British professor of history * Wendy J. Fox, American author * Wendy Holden (author, born 1961), British journalist and author * Wendy Holden (author, born 1965), British chick-lit novelist *

Wendy James Wendy James (born 21 January 1966) is an English singer-songwriter most notable for her work with the pop band Transvision Vamp. Transvision Vamp Born in London to Norwegian parents, James was adopted soon after birth. She left home at the ag ...

, Transvision Vamp's singer * Wendy Mass (born 1967), American author especially of young adult and children's novels *

Wendy Melvoin Wendy Ann Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy ...

, musician and composer and

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

sister of Susannah Melvoin * Wendy Partridge, costume designer *

Wendy Pepper Anne Eustis Pepper Stewart (August 23, 1964 – November 12, 2017), known as Wendy Pepper, was a fashion designer who appeared on the first season of the reality television show ''Project Runway'', which aired on Bravo from December 2004 throug ...

, fashion designer * Wendy Pini, creator, artist and writer of the fantasy comic book universe '' Elfquest'' * Wendy Shon, Korean singer and member of Red Velvet *

Wendy Sulca Wendy Sulca Quispe (born 22 April 1996) is a Peruvian singer of Huayno music, who found fame thanks to YouTube, where her videos "La Tetita" ("The tittie"), "Cerveza, Cerveza" ("Beer, beer") and "Papito" ("Daddy") have enjoyed success. Career H ...

, Peruvian singer *

Wendy Wasserstein Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 – January 30, 2006) was an American playwright. She was an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1989 ...

, American playwright *

Wendy Whelan Wendy Whelan (; born May 7, 1967) is an American ballet dancer. She was principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and performed with the company for 30 years, and toured in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Whelan has also been an influential gue ...

, American ballet dancer and associate artistic director of New York City Ballet * Wendy O. Williams, stripper turned punk rocker and leader of the Plasmatics *

Wendy Wilson Wendy Wilson (born October 16, 1969) is an American singer and television personality who is a member of the pop trio Wilson Phillips. She co-founded Wilson Phillips with her older sister, Carnie, and childhood friend Chynna Phillips when they ...

, pop singer of

Wilson Phillips Wilson Phillips is an American pop group formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The group consists of Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson, the daughters of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of ...

fame and daughter of

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

singer,

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop music, pop composition, ex ...

Wendy Rose Wendy Rose (born May 8, 1948) is a Hopi/ Miwok writer. Having grown up in an environment which placed little emphasis on both her Native American and white background, much of her verse deals with her search for her personal identity. She is al ...

(born 1948), Hopi/Miwok writer.

Science and engineering

, geneticist *

Wendy Gibson Wendy Gibson is Professor of Protozoology at University of Bristol, specialising in trypanosomes and molecular parasitology. Career Wendy C. Gibson studied B. Sc. Zoology at University College London, UK graduating in 1975 followed by a doctor ...

, British professor in protozoology * Wendy Lou (born 1962), Canadian statistician *

Wendy L. Martinez Wendy L. Martinez (née Poston) is an American statistician. She directs the Mathematical Statistics Research Center of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and is the coordinating editor of the journal ''Statistics Surveys'' (jointly sponsored by four ...

, American statistician * Wendy Lee Queen (born 1981), American chemist and material scientist

Other

* Wendy Albano (died 2012), American woman who was murdered in Bangkok * Wendy Fitzwilliam, Miss Universe 1998 from Trinidad and Tobago * Wendy M. Masiello, United States Air Force officer * Wendy Metcalfe, Canadian journalist, editor and news executive * Wendi Michelle Scott (born 1975), American criminal convicted of abusing her daughter in a case of Münchausen syndrome by proxy *

Wendy Osefo Wendy Onyinye Osefo (née Ozuzu, born May 21, 1984) is a Nigerian-American political commentator, public affairs academic, and television personality. She is an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins School of Education. She is also a main cast memb ...

, Academic and The Real Housewives of Potomac cast member

Fictional characters

* Wendy Corduroy in ''

Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines ( Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel ( Kristen Schaal) ...

'' * Wendy Harris in the ''Super Friends'' cartoon and comic book * Wendy Johnson in ''

My Parents are Aliens ''My Parents Are Aliens'' is a British children's television sitcom that was produced for eight series by Yorkshire Television and aired on ITV from 8 November 1999 to 18 December 2006. Overview The show primarily follows the lives of three ...

'' * Wendy O. Koopa, one of the

Koopalings The (also known as in Japan and Europe or in Japan) are a fictional group of seven childlike characters in the ''Mario'' video game franchise by Nintendo. Their individual names are Larry Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr., Wendy O. Koopa, Iggy Koopa, ...

in ''Mario'' franchise * Wendy Marvell in '' Fairy Tail'' *

Wendy Peyser The second season of the American horror anthology television series ''American Horror Story'', subtitled ''Asylum'', takes place in 1964 and follows the stories of the staff and inmates who occupy the fictional mental institution Briarcliff Mano ...

in '' American Horror Story: Asylum'' * Wendy Testaburger in ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand ...

'' * Wendy Rhoades, wife of Chuck Rhoades and a psychiatrist/performance coach at Axe Capital in '' Showtime'' series ''Billions'' * Winnifred "Wendy" Torrance, one of the main characters in Stephen King's '' The Shining'' * Wendy Wu, the titular character of '' Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior'' *

Wendy the Good Little Witch Wendy the Good Little Witch is a fictional comic book character from Harvey Comics. Like Casper the Friendly Ghost and Hot Stuff the Little Devil, Wendy is an opposite-type character, a girl witch who does good deeds. Publication history Wend ...

in Harvey Comics * Wendy, a character in ''

Bob the Builder ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series follows the adventures of Bob, a building contractor, specialising in masonry, along with ...

'' * Wendy Wolf, a character in ''

Peppa Pig ''Peppa Pig'' is a British preschool animated television series by Astley Baker Davies. The show follows Peppa, an anthropomorphic female piglet, and her family, as well as her peers portrayed as other animals. The show first aired on 31 Ma ...

'' series * Wendy, a playable character in the indie survival game ''

Don't Starve ''Don't Starve'' is a survival video game developed by the Canadian indie video game developer Klei Entertainment. The game was initially released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux on April 23, 2013. A PlayStation 4 port, renamed ''Don ...

'' and its sequel ''Don't Starve Together'' * Wendy in ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main c ...

'' * Wendy in French animated series ''Les Sisters'' *

in ''

References

{{given name English feminine given names English given names invented by fiction writers