Girl · English pet form of a Welsh name
Winnie
Say it: WIN-ee
Meaning
A pet form of Winifred, an English form of Welsh Gwenfrewi (gwen 'white, blessed'; the second element is uncertain), influenced by Old English Winfrith.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Used in the US around 1880 to 1930.
Its wave through time
A revival, back after decades away
In the United States
- 24,717 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1898, about 1 in 851 girls
- 349 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Winny
Famous bearers
- Winnie Mandela, South African activist
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- 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.