WENDA

Wenda: translation

English: apparently an altered form ofWENDY(SEE Wendy) (cf. e.g.JennafromJenny), since it does not appear in modern use until the vogue for that name. In the earlyMiddle Ages, however, a name of identical form was in occasional use on the Continent as a short form of various female names (such asWendelburgandWendelgard) containing as their first element the ethnic name of the Wends (cf.WENDEL(SEE Wendel)). It may well have been partly influenced byWANDA(SEE Wanda).