# Wendy

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˈwɛn.di/ · frequency rank #9,128

## Definitions
1. A female given name.

## Etymology
Popularized by the character in J. M. Barrie's play, Peter Pan (1904) (though occasionally found earlier; the author explained that he got it from Fwendy-Wendy ("friend"), a nickname given to him by a child.
Alternatively, from a diminutive of the Welsh Gwendolen; or from Wendelin, a diminutive of Wendel.
A habitational forename meaning, "island at the river bend", from Old English wende (“watercourse with a bend”) + ēġ (“island”).

## Easily confused with
- **went** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wendy-vs-went)
- **wind** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wendy-vs-wind)
- **winds** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wendy-vs-winds)
- **woody** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wendy-vs-woody)
- **windy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wendy-vs-windy)
- **wonky** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wendy-vs-wonky)
- **wordy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wendy-vs-wordy)
- **wed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wed-vs-wendy)
- **wen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wen-vs-wendy)
- **we'd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-d-vs-wendy)
- **weed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weed-vs-wendy)
- **wand** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wand-vs-wendy)
- **Weld** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weld-vs-wendy)
- **weary** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weary-vs-wendy)
- **weeds** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weeds-vs-wendy)
- **Wanda** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wanda-vs-wendy)
- **Wands** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wands-vs-wendy)
- **wench** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wench-vs-wendy)

## Common misspellings (8)
`ewndy`, `wedny`, `wenddy`, `wendyy`, `wenndy`, `wenyd`, `wnedy`, `wwendy`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wendy