Wanda

I have several sources that I check for information about names, their histories, meanings, or any other interesting things. None of them really agree about Wanda. One source says that it didn't come into real use until after the 1940's. Another source shows it as being quite popular in the first half of the 20th century. When I went to check this information at Social Security Administration's Baby Name Database, it informed me that Wanda wasn't in the top 1000 for any year. Doubting that, since I know several Wandas, I queried the database with the name Jennifer, and was told that that also wasn't in the top 1000 for any year, which confirmed my suspicion that something there isn't working properly today. At some point I'll need to be reminded to go back and recheck Wanda's popularity. Unfortunately, none of my sources really agree about Wanda's meaning or origin either. Ask Oxford, whom I consider to be the real authority--for the most part--just comes right out and says that Wanda is "of uncertain origin." I'll go with that. We don't know what Wanda means. If your name is Wanda, then Wanda means you. How's that? In any case, Wanda is not as popular as it was in the 1970's and 80's. That's my guess--one day maybe we will see if I was right, if I remember to look it up. How's that for a pointless entry?