Given name & surname
Wendell
“one who travels; a wanderer”
Wendell is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “one who travels; a wanderer.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “one who travels; a wanderer.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Wendell through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 54,330
- 53,763 boys · 567 girls
- Most popular year
- 1940
- 1,650 babies
- 2025
- 67
- #2,165 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +8%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 67 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,165 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 9.0% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,625 in 1940. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (7). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 28,292 as a first name in 2020; 3,353 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.
Wendell’s family of names
Wendell has a related form in Windell. Wendell has a related form in Wendel. Wendell has a related form in Wendall.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 14
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Wendallvariant
- Windellvariant
- Wendelvariant
- Wyndellvariant
- Windelvariant
- Wendalvariant
- Wyndallvariant
- Windallvariant
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Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Wendell
- Wendell Meredith StanleyAmerican biochemist and virologist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1946)1904–1971
- WendellBrazilian footballerborn 1993
- Wendell WillkieAmerican lawyer and corporate executive (1892–1944)
- Wendell BerryAmerican writer, activist, and poet from Kentucky (1934-2026)
- Wendell PierceAmerican actor and businessmanborn 1963
- Wendell PhillipsAmerican abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, orator and lawyer (1811-1884)
- Wendell CoreyAmerican actor (1914–1968)
- Wendell FordAmerican politician (1924–2015)
- Wendell R. AndersonAmerican politician (1933-2016)
Characters named Wendell: Wendell Borton (The Simpsons character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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