2402:800:6191:EBD3:B0D9:E329:CCC6:D43E at 05:07, 28 October 2025

2025-10-28T05:07:52Z

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{{about|the name}}
{{Infobox given name
| name = Wanda
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| pronunciation = {{IPAc-en|'|w|ɒ|n|d|@}}<br />{{IPA|pl|ˈvanda|lang}}
| gender = Female/Male

| origin =
| language = Polish

| alternative spelling =
| nickname = Wan
| related names = [[Wendy]]
| name day =
| derived =
| popularity = [[Ouida]] novel by
| footnotes =
|region=[[Poland]]}}
'''Wanda''' is a female [[given name]] of [[Poland|Polish]] origin. It probably derives from the tribal name of the [[Wends]].<ref name=Campbell>Campbell, Mike. [http://www.behindthename.com/name/wanda "Meaning, Origin, and History of the Name Wanda"]. ''Behind the Name.'' Retrieved August 12, 2010.</ref> The name has long been popular in [[Poland]] where the legend of [[Princess Wanda]] has been circulating since at least the 12th century.<ref name=Kruszewska>Kruszewska, Albina I., & Coleman, Marion M. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2491931 "The Wanda Theme in Polish Literature and Life."] ''American Slavic and East European Review,'' Vol. 6, No. 1/2 (May 1947), pp. 19–35. The American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies. Retrieved August 12, 2010.</ref> In 1947, Wanda was cited as the second most popular name, after Mary, for Polish girls, and the most popular from Polish secular history.<ref name=Kruszewska /> The name was made familiar in the English-speaking world by the 1883 novel ''Wanda'', written by [[Ouida]], the story line of which is based on the last years of the [[Hechingen]] branch of the [[Swabia]]n [[House of Hohenzollern]].<ref name=Campbell /><ref>{{cite web|last=Ouida|title=Wanda|url=https://archive.org/stream/wandacountessvo00ramgoog/wandacountessvo00ramgoog_djvu.txt|work=Internet Archive|date=1883 |access-date=April 17, 2013}}</ref><ref name=Ouida>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1883/08/13/106250406.pdf "Ouida's 'Wanda'."] ''The New York Times,'' August 13, 1883. Retrieved August 12, 2010.</ref> In the United States, Wanda attained its highest popularity in the year 1934, peaking then at No. 47 on the list of names most frequently given to female infants.<ref name=Campbell /> The name is popularly misinterpreted as meaning "wanderer."<ref>[http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/meaning_of_Wanda.html "Name: Wanda"]. ''Baby Names World.'' Retrieved August 12, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Wanda "Wanda - Name Meaning & Origin."] ''Think Baby Names.'' Retrieved August 12, 2010.</ref>
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== Namesakes ==
*Wanda Barzee (born 1945), American criminal convicted of the [[Kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart]]
*[[Wanda Coleman]] (1946–2013), American poet
*[[Wanda Cowley]] (1924–2017), New Zealand children's writer
*[[Wanda Ford]], American former basketball player
*[[Wanda Hazel Gág]] (1893–1946), American author and illustrator of the children's book ''Millions of Cats''
*[[Wanda Gertz]] (1896–1958)
*[[Wanda Gołkowska]] (1925–2013), Polish artist
*[[Wanda Guenette]] (born 1962), Canadian volleyball player
*[[Wanda Hatfield]], Cherokee politician
*[[Wanda Hawley]] (1895–1963), American silent film-era actress
*[[Wanda Hendrix]] (1928–1981), American film actress
*Wanda Hutchinson (born 1951), American R&B singer ([[the Emotions]])
*[[Wanda Jackson]] (born 1937), American rockabilly singer
*[[Wanda Jakubowska]] (1907–1998)
*[[Maria Wanda Jastrzębska]] (1924–1988), [[Polish People's Republic|Polish]] [[Electronic engineering|electronics engineer]] and academic
*[[Wanda John-Kehewin]], Cree-Métis author and poet
*[[Wanda Józefa Maria Kirchmayer]] (1901–1944), Polish engineer and resistance fighter
*[[Wanda Klaff]] (1922–1946), German Nazi concentration camp overseer executed for war crimes
*[[Wanda Kosakiewicz]] (1917–1989), French stage actress and love interest of both Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. Sartre dedicated his ''The Roads to Freedom'' trilogy to her.
*[[Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz]] (1886–1968), World War II anti-Nazi Polish leader
*[[Wanda Lyzwinska]] (born 1953)
*[[Wanda Landowska]] (1877–1959)
*[[Wanda Malecka]] (1800–1860)
*[[Wanda Panfil]] (born 1959)
*[[Wanda Perdelwitz]] (1984–2025), German actress
*[[Wanda Piłsudska]] (1918–2001)
*[[Wanda Rewieńska]] (1897–1942), Polish geographer, executed by Nazi occupying forces
*[[Wanda Rijo]] (born 1979), Dominican Republic weightlifter
*[[Wanda Rutkiewicz]] (1943–1992), Polish mountain climber
*[[Wanda dos Santos]] (1932–2025), Brazilian hurdler
*[[Wanda Soto Tolentino]], Puerto Rican politician
*[[Wanda Stopa]] (1900–1924), Polish-American attorney and murderer
*[[Wanda Sykes]] (born 1962), American actress, comedian, and writer.
*[[Wanda Tinasky]] (pseudonym)
*[[Wanda Toscanini|Wanda Toscanini Horowitz]] (1907–1998)
*[[Wanda Vazquez Garced]] (born 1960), Governor of Puerto Rico
*[[Wanda Ventham]] (born 1935), English actress
*[[Wanda Warska]] (1930–2019), Polish jazz singer and composer
*[[Wanda Wasilewska]] (1905–1964)
*[[Wanda Wiley]] (1901–1987), American actress in silent films
*[[Wanda Wiłkomirska]] (1929–2018)
*[[Wanda Young]] (1943–2021), American R&B singer (the Marvelettes)

==Characters==
*[[Princess Wanda]], legendary heroine in Polish folk mythology
*''[[Vanda (opera)|Vanda]]'', the title and protagonist of the 1876 Antonín Dvořák grand opera
*[[Wanda Maximoff]], alter-ego of the ''Avengers'' comic-book character Scarlet Witch (1964–continuing)
**[[Wanda Maximoff (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Wanda Maximoff]], a film character based on Scarlet Witch.
*''[[Wanda (film)|Wanda]]'', protagonist of the 1970 movie of the same name, written, directed and starring Barbara Loden
*[[Wanda Firebaugh]], character from the webcomic ''Erfworld'' (2007–continuing)
*[[Wanda Seldon]], key character in the 1993 novel ''Forward the Foundation'', part of Isaac Asimov's ''Foundation'' series
*Wanda, the protagonist of the 1809 stage play ''Wanda'' written by German poet [[Zacharias Werner]] and directed by [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]
*Wanda, heroine of the 1840 narrative poem ''Wanda'' by the Polish poet [[Cyprian Norwid|C. K. Norwid]]
*Wanda, subject of the 1868 play ''Wanda, the Polish Queen'' by the Croatian dramatist [[Matija Ban]]
*Wanda von Dunajew, protagonist of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's 1870 novel ''[[Venus in Furs]]''
*Wanda von Chabert, the protagonist of the 1881 [[Guy de Maupassant]] story ''In Various Roles''
*Wanda von Szalras, heroine of ''Wanda,'' the 1883 novel and stage play by [[Ouida]] (Maria Louise Ramé)
*Wanda, the protagonist of the 1928 novel ''Wanda (Der Dämon)'' by Nobel Prize-winning novelist [[Gerhart Hauptmann]]
*Wanda Petronski, the child protagonist of the 1944 novel ''[[The Hundred Dresses]]'' by Eleanor Estes
*Wanda Cavalli, primary character in the 1952 movie ''[[The White Sheik]]'' directed by Federico Fellini
*Wanda Von Kreesus, the main character in the 1973–1980 adult comic strip ''[[Wicked Wanda]]''
*Wanda Nevada, heroine of the 1979 movie ''[[Wanda Nevada]]'' played by Brooke Shields
*Wanda Gershwitz and Wanda the goldfish, characters in the 1988 movie ''[[A Fish Called Wanda]]''
*Wanda Woodward, character in the 1990 movie ''[[Cry-Baby]]'', played by Traci Lords
*Wanda, a key character in Todd McFarlane's 1992–continuing ''[[Spawn (comics)|Spawn]]'' comic-book series, as well as the 1997 movie and 1997-99 TV series
*Wanda, the main controllable character in the 1993 video game'' [[Mario & Wario]]''
*Wanda, a popular recurring character in the 1990–94 TV series ''[[In Living Color]]'' played by actor Jamie Foxx
*Wanda, the nickname of the Wandering Swordsman, a member of the Ancient Alliance of Askara, in the 1997 video game [[Tibia]]
*Wanda, cartoon character from ''[[The Fairly OddParents]]'' TV series (2001–2017)
*[[Wanda Li]], one of Ms. Frizzle’s classmates in the Scholastic book and television series [[The Magic School Bus]]
*Wanda Raccoon, the name of Walter Raccoon’s wife and Pinch and Scootch’s mother in the Playhouse Disney animated show [[PB&J Otter]]
*Wanda MacPherson, a character from the [[Baby Blues (comic strip)|comic strip]] and 2000–2002 TV series ''[[Baby Blues (American TV series)|Baby Blues]]''
*Wanda, the main character in the 2005 video game ''[[Shadow of the Colossus]]''
*Wanda, the human name given to the protagonist in the 2008 Stephenie Meyer novel ''[[The Host (novel)|The Host]]''
*Wanda Dollard, a character on the 2004–2009 TV series ''[[Corner Gas]]''
*Wanda, the character played by Diora Baird in Episode 16, Season 6 (2009) of ''[[Two and a Half Men]]''
*Wanda Slater, the character [[Wilhelmina Slater]]'s actual name in the 2006–2010 TV series ''Ugly Betty''

==Music==
* ''Kinda Fonda Wanda'' a song by [[Neil Young]] on his 1983 album ''[[Everybody's Rockin']]''

==See also==
*{{lookfrom}}
*{{intitle}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{given name}}

[[Category:Polish feminine given names]]
[[Category:Slavic feminine given names]]
[[Category:English feminine given names]]
[[Category:Feminine given names]]

Wanda - Revision history

2402:800:6191:EBD3:B0D9:E329:CCC6:D43E at 05:07, 28 October 2025