Names, In Particular Wendy, Invented In Fiction

[barry1010]

I believe this name didn't exist before Barrie invented it for Peter Pan. I find that quite incredible considering how popular it became and the Wendy house. It seems slightly old fashioned now but I have known several 'Wendys'.

Has any other names been invented in the past 200 years that have taken off like this?

[Atheist]

Friendy-Wendy.

[naomi24]

I think Lorna was invented by R D Blackmore, author of Lorna Doone - but I might be wrong.

[barry1010]

I didn't know that, naomi - I will investigate.

[MWG14]

Hayley. Hayley Mills was the first person with this name but it was because her mother was Mary Hayley Bell the authoress, and her father the actor John Mills. Mary Hayley Bell wrote ‘Whistle Down the Wind’ which was a delightful little story about children who mistook a tramp for Jesus. Hayley Mills starred in the film when she was a child.

[William51]

After a web search i have found that Wendy was a surname and also a masculine name since the 1600s, and it was Peter Pan that started the popularity as a female name.

[Old_Geezer]

A male called Wendy. Is he a friend to a boy named Sue ?

[HeavensToBetsy]

Swift first used the name ‘Vanessa’ in a poem written in 1712 and first published in 1726. The name starts with the first letters of the surname and first name of his lover Esther Vanhomrigh.

[barry1010]

Thanks all. Were there many Robin's before Batman?

[naomi24]

Robin of Loxley (aka Robin Hood) was around before Batman.

[LadyCG]

I could reel off some of the names of the paediatric patients I've encountered recently. Needless to say the trend for making up stupid names and double-barrelled names continues.

Lexon-Leon is one I came across not so long ago. Daft names like Summer Holiday and Harley Davidson still occur.

Wendy is the name of my cousin - I don't think she's too fond of it.

[elliemay1]

Pamela
//Sir Philip Sidney invented the name Pamela for a pivotal character in his epic prose work, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia, written in the late 16th century and published posthumously. The name is widely taken to mean "all sweetness", formed on the Greek words πᾶν pan ("all") and μέλι meli ("honey"),[2][3] but there is no evidence regarding what meaning, if any, Sidney intended for it.//

[elliemay1]

Some here:https://interestingliterature.com/2015/10/10-first-names-that-have-their-origins-in-literature/

[elliemay1]

https://interestingliterature.com/2015/10/10-first-names-that-have-their-origins-in-literature/

[barry1010]

Thanks all :) I'd forgotten about Robin of Loxley

[douglas9401]

Lando.

[jourdain2]

naomi - you are correct 'Lorna' was invented by R.D. Blackmore.

[jno]

Gwendolyn's an old Welsh name; it's possible Wendy was in use as a shortened form

[JimF]

"Were there many Robins before Batman?"

Hundreds: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_(name)

[jno]

Madison as a girl's forename comes from Splash, where the mermaid takes it from a street sign (taken in turn from a US President's surname).

[barry1010]

Good point, jno, I have always liked Gwendolyn, got a nice ring to it.

I met a little lad called Chester the other day. Never heard that as a first name before.