How Many People Are Named Wendell?
An estimated 30,632 people in the United States have the first name Wendell. It is predominantly male (99.0%). The average bearer is 61 years old, and Wendell peaked in popularity in 1940 with 1,650 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Wendell as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Wendell paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Wendell is overwhelmingly male, 567 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Wendell has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
30,632
About 1 in 11,189 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.0% confidence
Average Age
61
years old
Peak Year
1940
1,650 births
Total Registered
54,263
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Wendell
Wendell is predominantly male (99.0%), though 567 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Wendell as a male name
Ranked #2,068 in 2024
73 male births in 2024
Peak: 1940 (1,625 births)
Wendell as a female name
Ranked #17,835 in 2019
5 female births in 2019
Peak: 1940 (25 births)
Wendell: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Wendell span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 10,039 babies were registered. Wendell has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Wendell by Decade
How has Wendell tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 83 | 83 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 182 | 182 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 366 | 366 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 3,440 | 3,431 | 9 | |
| 1920s | 6,289 | 6,226 | 63 | |
| 1930s | 6,266 | 6,217 | 49 | |
| 1940s | 8,498 | 8,378 | 120 | |
| 1950s | 10,039 | 9,905 | 134 | |
| 1960s | 9,108 | 8,967 | 141 | |
| 1970s | 3,741 | 3,715 | 26 | |
| 1980s | 2,636 | 2,616 | 20 | |
| 1990s | 1,555 | 1,555 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 904 | 904 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 736 | 731 | 5 | |
| 2020s | 420 | 420 | 0 | |
Wendell by State
Birth registrations for Wendell span all 48 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Georgia, Kentucky. The lowest are in Rhode Island, Delaware, Montana. On average, about 1,014 Wendells were registered per state.
Wendell + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Wendell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Wendell
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
Wendell: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wendell?
We estimate approximately 30,632 people named Wendell are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 11,189 Americans share this first name.
Is Wendell a common name?
Wendell is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 54,263 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Wendell most popular?
Wendell reached peak popularity in 1940, when 1,650 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Wendell is approximately 61 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Wendell a male name?
Wendell is predominantly male. 99.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Wendell Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Wendell Smith, Wendell Johnson, Wendell Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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