Given name
Winona
“firstborn daughter”
Winona is used as a given name. One Native American interpretation is “firstborn daughter.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Native American interpretation is “firstborn daughter.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Native American.
How it developed
From Dakota winúŋna (“firstborn daughter”), from Proto-Siouan *rǫ.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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
Winona through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 12,953
- 0 boys · 12,953 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 466 babies
- 2025
- 466
- #627 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +207%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 466 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 627 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 206.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (36). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,829 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Winona’s family of names
In English usage, Winona has a diminutive in Winnie. In English usage, Winona has a related form in Wynona. Winona has a related form in Wynona.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Winniediminutive · English
- Wynonavariant · English
- Wynonnavariant
- Winnonavariant
- Wynnonavariant
- Wenonavariant · English
- Winonnavariant
- Wanonavariant
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Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Winona
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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