Wynne
A feminine name of Welsh origin meaning "blessed" or "fair".
Name Census estimates that about 1,408 living Americans carry the first name Wynne. It is a predominantly female name (90.9% of registrations). The average person named Wynne today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wynne births was 2019 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wynne. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Wynne with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 243,433 Americans
Peak year
2019
47 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2021 SSA rank
#4,866
Tracked since 1904
Census
Wynne in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,564 people with the first name Wynne, which placed it at #9,056 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,056
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,564 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wynne
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wynne is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.6%) and Black (5.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Wynne described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Wynne at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.5% · 1,244
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.6% · 150
- Black or African American5.2% · 81
- Two or more races3.1% · 49
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Wynne
Wynne leans heavily female at 90.9% of total registrations, but 167 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Wynne as a male name
- Ranked #13,976 in 2021
- 5 male births in 2021
- Peak: 1966 (10 births)
Wynne as a female name
- Ranked #4,866 in 2024
- 28 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (47 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wynne leans strongly female. 1,361 people counted with this name were female (86.7%), compared with 208 male bearers (13.3%).
Popularity
Wynne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wynne from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 302 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Wynne remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wynne by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Wynne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wynnes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Wynne, while Illinois, Maryland, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wynne
The name Wynne is derived from the Old English word "wyn," which means "joy" or "pleasure." It is believed to have originated in England during the Anglo-Saxon period, which lasted from the 5th to the 11th century. The name was likely initially used as a descriptive term for someone who brought happiness or delight to others.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wynne can be found in the Domesday Book, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. In this document, a landowner named Wynne is mentioned as holding property in the county of Worcestershire.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Wynne continued to be used in various parts of England, particularly in the southern and western regions. It appeared in various historical records, such as court rolls and parish registers, indicating its widespread use among the English population.
In the 14th century, a notable figure named Wynne ap Griffith was a Welsh nobleman and military leader who fought alongside Owain Glyndŵr during the Welsh Revolt against the English crown. This early example showcases the name's presence in Wales, where it likely adopted a similar meaning and pronunciation.
Another prominent individual bearing the name Wynne was Sir John Wynne (1553-1626), a Welsh politician and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He served as the High Sheriff of Caernarvonshire and was known for his involvement in local politics and governance.
During the 17th century, the name Wynne gained further recognition with the birth of Richard Wynne (1622-1675), a Welsh soldier and politician who served as the Governor of Bombay (now Mumbai) for the East India Company. His legacy is celebrated in the naming of several locations and landmarks in Mumbai, including the Wynne Friary Church.
In the literary world, the name Wynne is associated with the English writer and playwright Wynne Parry (1658-1743), who gained recognition for his satirical plays and comedies during the Restoration period.
It is worth noting that while the name Wynne has its origins in England and Wales, it has been adopted and used in various other cultures and languages over time, often with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation.
People
Wynne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wynne as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Wynne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wynne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,408 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wynne going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 243,433 US residents.
Is Wynne a common name?
We classify Wynne as "Rare". It ranks above 92.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,845 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wynne most popular?
The single biggest year for Wynne was 2019, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wynne is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Wynne in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,564 people with the name Wynne, or 0.52 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,056 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Wynne in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Wynne?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wynne leans strongly female. 1,361 people counted with this name were female (86.7%), compared with 208 male bearers (13.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Wynne?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wynne is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.6%) and Black (5.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Wynne most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Wynne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.5% (1,244 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Wynne in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wynne a female name?
Yes, 90.9% of people registered as Wynne in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Wynne still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wynne in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Wynne can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Wynne as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Wynne on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.