Here you’ll find 12 Literary girl names that start with W, organized from “Wanda” to “Wynonna”. They include coined character names, mythic and poetic choices, often with vintage charm or outspoken energy. Use them for baby naming, character naming, and literary inspiration.
Literary girl names that start with W are female names originating in or popularized by literature. For example, J. M. Barrie coined “Wendy” for Peter Pan and helped make it widely used.
Below you’ll find the table with Name, Origin, Pronunciation, and Meaning.
Name: The listed given name as it appears in the source text, so you can compare style and sound quickly.
Origin: Shows the author, work, and original language so you can trace literary context and cultural roots.
Pronunciation: Provides a simple phonetic respelling so you can say each name confidently and test its sounds.
Meaning: Gives etymology or the name’s literary significance so you understand symbolism and possible meanings.
Literary girl names that start with W
| Name | Origin (Author/Work, Year, Language) | Pronunciation | Meaning / Etymology |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wendy | J. M. Barrie, The Little White Bird (1902) / Peter Pan (play, 1904), English | WEN-dee (stress WEN) | Author-coined nickname; later associated with “friend” |
| Wednesday | Charles Addams, The New Yorker cartoons (first appearance 1938), English | WENZ-day (stress WENZ) | Weekday name; “Woden’s day” Old English origin |
| Wenonah | Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Song of Hiawatha (1855), English | weh-NOH-nuh (stress NOH) | Ojibwe “first-born daughter” (adapted spelling) |
| Wilhelmina | Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897; Mina is short for Wilhelmina), English | wil-hel-MEE-nuh (stress MEE) | Germanic “will + helmet” (resolute protector) |
| Wangero | Alice Walker, “Everyday Use” (short story, 1973), English | wahn-GEER-oh (stress GEER) | Author-chosen African-style name; modern coinage |
| Wanda | Wincenty Kadłubek (chronicle), medieval Polish legend (earliest written records c. 1190–1208), Latin/Polish | WAHN-dah (stress WAHN) | Possibly Slavic/legendary; meaning uncertain |
| Wynonna | Beau Smith, Wynonna Earp (comic series, 1996), English | win-AW-nuh (stress AW) | Variant/coinage related to Winona; modern form |
| Waverly | Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club (1989), English | WAY-vur-lee (stress WAY) | From place-name Waverley; adopted as given name |
| Wren | Sherwood Smith, Wren to the Rescue (1990), English | REN (single syllable; stress REN) | English bird name used as a given name |
| Winnie | A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), English | WIN-ee (stress WIN) | Diminutive of Winifred or names with “win”/”white” roots |
| Winifred | Medieval hagiographies of Saint Winifred (Gwenfrewi), earliest written accounts c. 12th century, Latin/Welsh | WIN-ih-fred (stress WIN) | From Welsh Gwenfrewi “blessed peace” |
| Wendy Darling | J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan (play, 1904) / Peter and Wendy (novel, 1911), English | WEN-dee DAR-ling (stress WEN) | Same as Wendy; “darling” affectionate epithet |
Descriptions
Wendy
Barrie’s most famous creation popularized Wendy as a girl’s name—kind, motherly figure to the Lost Boys; one of the clearest examples of an author-coined given name entering common use.
Wednesday
Charles Addams gave the Addams Family daughter the weekday name Wednesday, making an ordinary word into a memorable gothic character name that has since inspired reuse and adaptations.
Wenonah
Longfellow’s poem uses Native American names and stories; Wenonah is Hiawatha’s mother, a tragic, lyrical figure whose name entered wider literary awareness through the epic.
Wilhelmina
Stoker presents “Mina” as diminutive of Wilhelmina; the fuller form appears in Victorian literature and gives Mina Harker a formal, stately root.
Wangero
Walker’s character Dee adopts “Wangero” as a reclaimed, African-inspired name—a short, powerful example of literary renaming and identity politics in contemporary fiction.
Wanda
The legendary Princess Wanda of Polish chronicles (heroic/tragic figure) appears in medieval literature and later romantic poems, cementing Wanda as a literary and national-legend name.
Wynonna
Beau Smith’s comic heroine revived and popularized this distinctive spelling; Wynonna blends familiar Native-derived forms with comic-book tough-girl identity.
Waverly
Amy Tan’s Waverly Jong is a memorable chess prodigy; the name carries modern American literary usage and a sense of cultivated, unique femininity.
Wren
Smith’s fantasy heroine Wren made the short bird-name a lively protagonist’s moniker, showing how noun-names can read as independent, story-ready given names.
Winnie
Milne’s beloved bear Winnie popularized the cute, affectionate diminutive; later used for human characters, it evokes warmth, childhood, and intimacy in literature.
Winifred
Saint Winifred’s life and miracles were written in medieval texts; the name appears in later literature as a traditional, saintly English/Welsh feminine name.
Wendy Darling
Barrie’s full character name (Wendy Darling) anchors Wendy in a particular literary family and role—tender, adventurous, and emblematic of childhood in fiction.