Glennda
Feminine · “pure and good”
Glennda is Glenda with the doubled n of Glenn, joining a Welsh girl's name to an American boy's spelling. The best-known Glenda won two Academy Awards and then spent more than two decades in Parliament.
How old is the name Glennda?
Glennda first appears in US birth records in 1934 — 91 years ago. The typical Glennda alive today was born around 1954, making them about 71 years old. About 400 people named Glennda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Glennda most popular?
Glennda peaked in 1943, reaching #1751 nationally. See the whole 1943 chart.
Where it comes from
From glân + da to Glennda
The story of Glennda
The Scots word glen, a narrow valley, has one n, and so does the Gaelic gleann behind it; it was American parents who doubled it for the boy's name Glenn. Glenda is separate, a Welsh name built on glân. Glennda borrows the double n of Glenn and gives it to the Welsh name. Its famous namesake, Glenda Jackson, won two Oscars for Best Actress and then left acting to serve as a Labour member of Parliament for over twenty years.
Meaningscholars disagree
pure and good, through Welsh Glenda
Glenda is usually explained from Welsh glân, clean or pure, and da, good. Some families may have meant a feminine of Glenn, from Gaelic gleann, a valley. The spelling Glennda points toward the second.
How the name formed
- glân + da
- Glenda
- Glennda
Related forms: Glenda
Pronouncing Glennda
GLEN-duh
Two syllables, stressed on the first.
Nicknames for Glennda
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1934
- Most girls named
- 195434 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1751reached in 1943
- Change vs 1989
- −16.7%5 in 1998, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Glennda in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Glenda in Welsh — same name
Glenndas among us
people named Glennda are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Glennda sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It sounds like a familiar name with a real Welsh history.
- It connects to a celebrated actress and politician.
- It is rare as a spelling.
- People will write Glenda, and the doubled n will need spelling out.
- Glen, the obvious short form, reads as a man's name.
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Glennda
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Glenndas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Glennda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Glennda in 2025?
- Glennda is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Glennda with classmates?
- Glennda will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More G names
The most-given names starting with G, all years combined.
Grace#38 · Gloria#654 · Gladys#3211 · Geraldine#2438 · Gail#8362 · Gertrude#6546 · Georgia#99 · Gina#2076
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Glennda? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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