.PNG) Wendy Darling drawn by Oliver Herford in The Peter Pan Alphabet | |
| Pronunciation | (/ˈwɛndi/) |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Language | English |
| Other names | |
| Alternative spelling | Wendi, Wendie |
| Related names | Gwendolyn, Gwen, Wendeline, Wendelinda, Winifred |
Wendy is a Welsh feminine given name from Gwendolen and Gwendoline.
Wendy is a place name of a hamlet in Cambridgeshire, listed in the Domesday Book under the name of Wandrie. In Great Britain during the English Civil War in the mid-1600s, a male Captain Wendy Oxford was identified by the Leveller John Lilburne as a spy reporting on his activities. It was also used as a surname in Britain from at least the 17th century. Its popularity in Great Britain as a feminine name is owed to the character Wendy Darling from the 1904 play Peter Pan and its 1911 novelisation Peter and Wendy, both written by J. M. Barrie. Its popularity reached a peak in the 1960s, and subsequently declined. The name was inspired by young Margaret Henley (1888–1894), who died aged five from meningitis, daughter of Barrie's poet friend W. E. Henley. Reportedly, Margaret used to call Barrie my friendy. With the common early childhood difficulty pronouncing Rs, this came out as my fwendy and my fwendy-wendy.
