Wanda
Feminine
Wanda is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 281,214 girls against 972 boys since 1880. See Wanda as a boy name
Wanda is a Polish princess who drowned herself rather than marry a German. The legend is medieval, the historians think it was written to explain a burial mound outside Krakow, and the mound is still there — a grassy cone the size of a small hill, on top of which people picnic.
How old is the name Wanda?
Wanda was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Wanda alive today was born around 1948, making them about 77 years old. About 165,000 people named Wanda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Wanda most popular?
Wanda peaked in 1934, reaching #47 nationally. Today it ranks #5917, 5,870 places below that high. See the whole 1934 chart.
Wanda appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From a burial mound outside Krakow of unknown origin to Wanda
The story of Wanda
The story says she was the daughter of the founder of Krakow, refused a German prince, defeated him in war or refused him outright depending on the version, and then threw herself into the Vistula so that her country would not have to fight for her. The mound was already ancient when the story was written down. Poland has kept the name and the mound: she is a national figure, the site is a monument, and the whole thing may have started because somebody looked at a large pile of earth and wanted to know whose it was.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Two explanations compete. One derives the name from the Wends, the Slavic people of the eastern German marches; the other treats it as a Germanic name meaning a wanderer, which English speakers hear immediately and which is almost certainly a later folk explanation. The legend is older than either etymology, which suggests both are attempts to explain a name that was already there.
How the name formed
- a burial mound outside Krakow of unknown origin
- a medieval legend attaches a princess to it
- Wanda becomes a Polish national name
- carried to America with Polish migration
- an American peak in the 1930s
Related forms: Wanda · Wanda · Vanda
Pronouncing Wanda
WON-duh
Two syllables, stress at the front. Polish gives the w a v sound, VAN-da, which is how the name is said in Poland and almost nowhere else in America.
Nicknames for Wanda
Moderate
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 19577,713 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #47reached in 1934
- Change vs 2022
- −13.0%20 in 2025, from 23
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.
Wanda in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Wanda in Polish — same name
- Wanda in German — same name
- Vanda in Italian — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Ohio.
Wandas among us
people named Wanda are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 80,363 born in 2025 was named Wanda
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Anne test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Wanda's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Anne climbed just as high around 1915, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Anne's path sketches the road Wanda is walking now.
Wanda sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Wanda beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Wanda in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is short, plain and read correctly at sight everywhere.
- It marks a Polish family history clearly and warmly.
- It has a genuine national legend attached to it.
- The Polish pronunciation begins with a v and the American one does not.
- A comedy film of the 1980s attached itself to the name for a generation.
- It is closely dated to the first half of the last century in America.
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What they receive
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Wanda
Feminine · #5917 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Wandas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 165,000 people named Wanda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Wanda in 2025?
- Wanda ranks #5917 among US girl names in 2025, with 20 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Wanda?
- About 1 in every 80,363 US girls born in 2025 was named Wanda — 20 in all.
- Will my child share the name Wanda with classmates?
- Wanda will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Wanda
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Elda#5917 · Saloma#5917 · Fawn#5917 · Sarafina#5917 · Jaymie#5917 · Jania#5917 · Kimberlynn#5917 · Patsy#5917
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Wanda? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Wanda and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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