Wanda
Masculine
Wanda is given to girls far more often — 281,214 girls against 972 boys since 1880. See Wanda as a girl 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 first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Wanda alive today was born around 1950, making them about 75 years old. About 500 people named Wanda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Wanda most popular?
Wanda peaked in 1934, reaching #1293 nationally. See the whole 1934 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
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
- 1917
- Most boys named
- 196335 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1293reached in 1934
- Change vs 1986
- 0.0%5 in 1987, from 5
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
Wandas among us
people named Wanda 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
Wanda 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 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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Wanda
Masculine
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 500 people named Wanda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Wanda in 2025?
- Wanda is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Wanda with classmates?
- Wanda will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More W names
The most-given names starting with W, all years combined.
William#9 · Walter#251 · Willie#1315 · Wayne#652 · Wesley#52 · Wyatt#38 · Warren#240 · Wallace#960
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Wanda? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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