Girl · Polish legend, origin unknown
Wanda
Say it: VAHN-dah
Meaning
Name of a legendary Polish princess in Wincenty Kadłubek's chronicle; its origin is unclear, and the link with the Vandals or a Slavic root is speculative.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
From the legend of Wanda who would not marry a German, it became a real given name in the late 18th and 19th centuries.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1930s
In the United States
- 282,057 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1933, about 1 in 236 girls
- 17 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
| Czech | Vanda |
|---|---|
| Slovak | Vanda |
| Russian | Vanda |
Famous bearers
- Wanda Landowska, Polish harpsichordist
- Wanda Rutkiewicz, Polish mountaineer
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Medieval Slavic chronicles and charters
- Well-known works of literature
- National birth statistics of European countries source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.