The Girl Behind the Name Wendy

Wendy is one of the children visited by Peter Pan in the children's story Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. The name Wendy, which is a derivative of Gwendolyn, was invented by Barrie.

The Girl who inspired Barrie

Barrie introduced the character Wendy Darling in Peter Pan in 1904. It is well-known that J.M. Barrie's work was often inspired by the antics of children. Many important characters in his books are modeled after children of his friends and associates.
One such child was a little girl named Margaret Henley (shown above) who adored Barrie and always called him "my friendy". However, because she couldn't pronounce her r's, the words came out "my fwendy". One variation of the tale says Margaret called Barrie "friendy-wendy" or in her pronunciation, "fwendy-wendy".
Margaret Henley died at age six (c. 1895). But Barrie used Margaret's invented name "Wendy" for a character who symbolizes mothering, caring, loyalty, and undying friendship.
Margaret also used to wear a cloak. This cloak was the model for Wendy Darling's cloak in Peter Pan.
Despite the popularity of Peter Pan, "Wendy" as a name did not come into general use until the 1920s, although some parents used "Wenda", first appearing in 1907, as a familiar form of the name. The name Wendy was more popular in Britain (its country of origin) than in the United States. In the 1940s, the variation "Wendie" was regularly used and "Wendi" appeared in the 1960s, which is when the name reached its peak in Britain. In the United States Wendy reached its peak in the 1970s. By the 1980s, the popularity of Wendy was in sharp decline.

Other Wendys

* Wendy house (in American English playhouse) is a small house for small children to play in, often made of cloth and about 1-2 metres high.

* Wendy's is a type of fast food restaurant which is known for serving hamburgers. Many towns in the US and some large towns in the UK have a Wendy's.