Given name & surname
Vanda
“a wanderer”
Vanda is a form of Wanda. One German interpretation is “a wanderer.” Its derivation is not certain.
Original GermanWanda
Meaning & origin
What it means
In German use, Vanda carries the interpretation “a wanderer.” Vanda is a form of Wanda. One German interpretation is “a wanderer.” Its derivation is not certain.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
How it developed
Vanda is used as a form of Wanda.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1893. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Vanda is a form of Wanda. The history of Wanda gives this family its wider story. Wanda appears as a princess in Polish folk tales. The writer Ouida used it for the heroine of her 1883 novel Wanda, helping introduce the name to English-speaking readers.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Vanda through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,683
- 0 boys · 1,683 girls
- Most popular year
- 1960
- 45 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2002. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 45 in 1960. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,846 as a first name in 2020; 211 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Vanda’s family of names
In Czech usage, Vanda has a diminutive in Vandička. In Latvian usage, Vanda developed from the Polish form Wanda. Vanda has a related form in Vandi.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Around the world
Vanda has relatives in 7 languages. Lines run from its German roots to each of them.
Germanwhere Vanda comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Vanda
- LioBelgian actress and singerborn 1962
- Vanda HădăreanRomanian gymnastborn 1976
- Vanda HybnerováCzech actress (born 1968)
- Vanda JuknaitėLithuanian writerborn 1949
- Vanda VályiHungarian water polo playerborn 1999
- Vanda GomesBrazilian sprinterborn 1988
- Vanda SkuratovichBelarusian partisan1925–2010
- Vanda PignatoSalvadoran lawyerborn 1963
- Vanda KiszliHungarian canoeist (1993–)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Vanda, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Wonda
“a wanderer”
>99% girls
Heidi
“of the nobility; serene; of good humor”
>99% girls
Vondia
“a wanderer”
>99% girls
Vondella
“a wanderer”
>99% girls
Uta
“fortunate maid of battle” · “poem”
>99% girls
Rolanda
“well-known throughout the land” · “from the renowned land”
1% boys · 99% girls
Tawanda
“a wanderer”
>99% girls
Tristana
“one who is sorrowful”
>99% girls