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Wendy
I've created a poll on this but I would also like to read your opinions. What do you think of the name Wendy? I always had nice associations with it, it reminded me of Peter Pan which was one of my favorite stories as a child. So I thought of a sweet and adorable little girl. Do you have similar associations? Or does it make you think of fast food or is it very dated in your opinion? I feel like the fast food associations and the existence of spellings such as Wendi and Wendee have taken away some of its beauty. Is Wendy too childish or cutesy?Do you think it is better as a nickname for Gwendolen? So she could go by her full name in case the fast food association bothers her. Gwendolen or Gwendolyn?
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I like Wendy it is pretty, fanciful, and fun. There is a girl working at a Starbuck's near my work with this name, and it suits her. Wendy works well as a nickname for Gwendolyn. If she ever grows tired of her childhood nickname, she can always use Gwen or her full name.
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I've always really disliked it. I think it's along the lines of Wanda, witch-like. I don't think of fast food, though. The only real association I have is of a young, Goth-y woman I knew about 16 years ago who was named Wendy. It's neither a positive nor a negative association, just one I have and one that is not a sweet and adorable little girl. I don't think it's childish and cutesy. That's not why I dislike it. I just don't like the sound of it.It's definitely dated but not unusable. I once came across the spelling Wende, btw.
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We don't have Wendy's here so there wouldn't be that connotation. I love Peter Pan, but I think Wendy should have stayed within the pages....I can't forget that it came from a child's pronunciation of 'friend' as 'fwendy'. Adorable in the context of the story, otherwise ...ugh!
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I associate Wendy with all of the things you mentioned (good and bad) + plus the word 'windy'. I think it's cutesy and dated, but somehow the fact that it's both makes it seem balanced/multifaceted enough that I don't dislike the name.Gwendolen is one of my favorite names, and I think Wendy's a cute nickname for that (although I personally would use Gwen, because I love it). Usually I prefer the Gwendolen spelling, but sometimes (depending on the MN or if Lyn as a NN is a possibility) I like the look of Gwendolyn more.

This message was edited 11/2/2016, 8:45 PM

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I like Wendy, but it feels somewhat juvenile to me, probably because Barry likely got the baby-speak "fwendy". Gwendolen is lovely and I think Wendy is a nice nickname for that, and more interesting than Gwen, which seems to be getting a bit overdone. My boyfriend has an aunt named Wendy, she's in her late 50's (?) and that's probably the age group I'd associate it with. I don't hate names from that generation as much as some people seem to, but they do feel dated since they are most people (who are having children's) parent's names.
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I think Wendy is very cute. It's dated now, but it still sounds youthful.
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