World Wide Wendy "Wendy-Families' and Friends Mail"

Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2000 11:53:25 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: magicwendy

hi,

First of all i shall just say that Wendy's World is a very interesting,
extensive and, overall, nice website!

I have been reading the e-mails people have sent you about the wendys they
love in their lives, so i thought i'd write to you about the special Wendy
in mine!

I've known Wend for about eight years, since primary school, and we are now
in sixth form together.  she is one of my most favourite pepole in the
world.  she is lovely and magical and gorgeous and i love her to bits.

Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 22:02:11 -0700 
From: Wendy's Mom 
Subject: The History of Wendy 

I was thrilled to read the real true story of the name Wendy.

My daughter, 3 years 4 months, came by her "Wendy" in a somewhat
circular fashion that involves both your original "misconception" and
the Peter Pan part.

My beloved grandmother was named Gwendolyn, but in her tiny east Texas
home town, that name was a foreign as the lights of Paris.  Her mother
(my great-grandmother, of course) had read the name in a book and
thought it was beautiful.  Unfortunately, she had never heard the name
aloud and took it to be pronounced gwenDOlyn, usually referring to young
Gwendolyn as simply "Dolyn."  In time, the family and neighbors
shortened it further to "Doe."

Many, many years after Doe's death I had a very close friend who had
been christened Wendy but took the name Ann as a teen.  I felt like a
member of Ann's family (and still do), so I wanted to pay homage to the
family by naming a girl-child Ann's family name.

Ann (Wendy) was named for Barrie's Wendy Darling.

My husband has strong roots in the UK and was agreeable to the
old-fashioned sort of Motherland tone of Gwendolyn and the bouncy fun
sound of Wendy.  And it does seem like a natural variation, doesn't it?
People who hear the full name think it's very unusual that we shortened
Gwendolyn to Wendy.

Subject: Remembering Wendy 
Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2000 21:23:21 +1200 


Hi, Wendy
My name is Chris (male) and I was born in 1955. I was searching the net for 
information on the herb Rosemary, and for some reason one of the sites listed 
was your World Wide Wendy (perhaps there is magic!)  Anyway, I was interested
in the origin of the name and read quite a few of the "Wendys" letters, which 
was interesting.

My point for being here, is that when I was five or six years old, I knew a girl 
named Wendy Bright (same age) I can just remember her back then, just!  She was 
very fond of me, as I was of her (how cute!) My parents filled in the missing gaps 
in my memory years later. Apparently we were both very serious that when we grew up 
we would get married! The years went by, and by the time I was all of 8 or 9 I had 
lost contact with Wendy forever, as fate would have it.  However as we both grew up 
in a small town where her parents retired, I did discover that she died of some 
complications from an illness when aged in her early thirties. Hearing that really 
gave me a shock even all those years later.  By this time I was happily married 
myself, and we now have three healthy boys (8, 10 and 12).  If we had managed a 
girl, I always wanted to call her Wendy, even though my wife was not that keen on 
the name!  Unfortunately, although we tried to have another child (hopefully the 
Wendy daugther I had always wanted!!) it was not to be and we were unable to have 
any more children.

I was moved to write this in the memory of a little friend with a magical name whom 
passed away at much too younger age.

May the magic be with all Wendys.  :-)
Chris

Subject: Aunt Wendy
Date: Sat, 2 Jan 1999 12:21:27 -0500

All of my cousins call my Aunt Wendy "Wendy the Witch" She is constantly 
ridiculed about her name. She was named after my grandfathers nickname 
"Winnie" If she had a dollar for everytime she had been teased she would get
a new name " Wendy the Rich" $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Thank You, Melissa

Date: Wed, 09 Sep 1998 12:37:44 +0000
From: Wendy's sister
Subject: My sister Wendy...

Hi there.....I was actually looking around to see if I could find sites
about my last name and came across the Wendy Site!  I have an older
sister named Wendy who is one of my best friends.  I was reading a few
of the emails from other people on your page and I saw alot of nicknames
that were similar for the name "Wendy" but I didn't see my sister's
nickname so I thought I'd email and put my 2 cents worth in! My sister's
nickname is "Ninnie".....she is the middle child of 5 (me being the
youngest).  I believe she got the name from one of us siblings who
couldn't say her name properly so she got stuck with Ninnie.  She's used
it ever since and signs her birthday cards to me like that sometimes!
She's 35 now and I'm sure that the name Ninnie is going to stick with
her for the rest of her life. :o)
Signed: Wendy's sister...Cindy-Leigh....( I bet I can't find a site
about MY name :o(....I've seen Cindy Lee's but not the hyphenated Leigh.)

From: Wendy's Dad
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 08:01:23 -0700
Subject: Wendy my daughter

My eldest daughter is a Wendy.  She is now 17.  She is
mostly named after the Good Little Witch, and partly
after the Wendy in Peter Pan, which I find is the 
Primordial Wendy, or the First Wendy of them all.

From: Wendy's Dad
Date: Thu, 03 Sep 1998 20:23:00 -0400
Subject: My "Wendy"

Wendy...

My beloved daughter is Wendy Xxxxxx.  Just thought I'd fire you a tidbit
of info on "her" name, (as I named her).

While I admit to being an original Mary Martin/Peter Panaholic and have
seen several versions of the play...I did NOT "originally" think of
naming her "for" the character.

I researched various names as to their "meaning" behind the word (I'd
been doing hebrew studies before I found out I was to be a father).

Anyway in playing around with names...I found Wendy to be one of several
derivative of the name Wanda, (which was also a derivative, but I forget
of what, Latin I think).  anyway...I named Wendy..."Wendy Diane", as
when transliterated...it ROUGHLY means..."a wandering goddess", (the
goddess part being from Diana, goddess of many things, including the
"hunt" and the character of a very strong woman.  When I put together
the wandering goddess part as being somewhat "meaningful"...I noticed
"Wendy" as a derivative on the "wandering" part...and at that instant I
remembered "Peter"...and the rest, as they say...will be history.

To me, (and I candidly admit I'm a proud father)...its one of the two
most beautiful names in the world, (the other being "Lara", as in Doctor
Shivago, my second daughter...her name works out as "Loyal as unto God",
when you add in her second name).

But...the "Peter" in me, (and I am, and will forevermore be, an original
Neverland member) feels that "WENDY" has a musical, special quality to
it.  Remember Wendy was more than the "mother" figure, she is also the
adventuress who holds the story together and for whom, Peter always
comes back to...as she gives his adventures..."meaning".  She is the
"strength" in the story, not Peter.