Wenche

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Wenche: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Wenche: Recorded since 1945, it reached #7 in 1955, and it was last ranked in 2008.

1registrar recorded it
58times a registrar ranked it
64years from first to last
#7highest recorded position
19groupings it qualifies for
10names it appears alongside

What stands out in Wenche's record

Held a top-100 place for 36 years running. Names by top-100 run
Shares a published list with another name across 58 years. Longest shared records

Norway · Girls

Falling

among girls in Norway · 1945–2008

View as table

Norway · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1945	#22
1946	#19
1947	#18
1948	#18
1949	#15
1950	#13
1951	#11
1952	#9
1953	#10
1954	#10
1955	#7
1956	#7
1957	#8
1958	#8
1959	#7
1960	#12
1961	#16
1962	#15
1963	#20
1964	#14
1965	#14
1966	#12
1967	#16
1968	#20
1969	#26
1970	#27
1971	#23
1972	#27
1973	#37
1974	#54
1975	#46
1976	#51
1977	#60
1978	#69
1979	#82
1980	#82
1981	#111
1982	#118
1983	#115
1984	#119
1985	#151
1986	#186
1987	#214
1988	#201
1989	#236
1990	#283
1991	#274
1992	#367
1993	#678
1994	#422
1995	#310
1996	#612
1997	#486
1999	#638
2000	#483
2003	#574
2007	#629
2008	#621

VerifiedSource: Statistics Norway (SSB) — Born Persons by First Name.Confidence: high.

See all Norway names · Source: Statistics Norway (SSB) — Born Persons by First Name

What the data shows

FallingNorway · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Norway in 58 of the 64 years from 1945 to 2008.

Official data for Norway, 1945–2008 · Statistics Norway (SSB). Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1945
First recorded at #22 among girls in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1945–2008
Highest recorded position: #7 among girls in Norway, in 1955 (recorded 1945–2008).
Norway · Girls
Most recent2008
Most recently recorded at #621 among girls in Norway, in 2008.
Norway · Girls

Wenche by decade in Norway · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Wenche in Norway · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1940s	1,873	5 of 10	375
1950sbusiest	4,881	10 of 10	488
1960s	4,240	10 of 10	424
1970s	1,895	10 of 10	190
1980s	480	10 of 10	48
1990s	93	9 of 10	10
2000s	20	4 of 10	5

Across Norway · Girls, the 1950s were its busiest decade, averaging 488 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1963 and 1964, when recorded births rose by 128, from 380 to 508.

See the names Norwayhas recorded the most births with →

Wenche appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Recorded in official data for Norway from 1945 to 2008. Highest recorded position: #7 in Norway in 1959.

Wenche's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2008	Norway	female	#621	4	High	Verified
2007	Norway	female	#629	4	High	Verified
2003	Norway	female	#574	5	High	Verified
2000	Norway	female	#483	7	High	Verified
1999	Norway	female	#638	4	High	Verified
1997	Norway	female	#486	7	High	Verified
1996	Norway	female	#612	5	High	Verified
1995	Norway	female	#310	14	High	Verified
1994	Norway	female	#422	9	High	Verified
1993	Norway	female	#678	4	High	Verified
1992	Norway	female	#367	12	High	Verified
1991	Norway	female	#274	19	High	Verified
1990	Norway	female	#283	19	High	Verified
1989	Norway	female	#236	24	High	Verified
1988	Norway	female	#201	31	High	Verified
1987	Norway	female	#214	28	High	Verified
1986	Norway	female	#186	33	High	Verified
1985	Norway	female	#151	44	High	Verified
1984	Norway	female	#119	57	High	Verified
1983	Norway	female	#115	60	High	Verified
1982	Norway	female	#118	57	High	Verified
1981	Norway	female	#111	60	High	Verified
1980	Norway	female	#82	86	High	Verified
1979	Norway	female	#82	93	High	Verified
1978	Norway	female	#69	110	High	Verified
1977	Norway	female	#60	120	High	Verified
1976	Norway	female	#51	143	High	Verified
1975	Norway	female	#46	175	High	Verified
1974	Norway	female	#54	155	High	Verified
1973	Norway	female	#37	215	High	Verified
1972	Norway	female	#27	264	High	Verified
1971	Norway	female	#23	323	High	Verified
1970	Norway	female	#27	297	High	Verified
1969	Norway	female	#26	344	High	Verified
1968	Norway	female	#20	390	High	Verified
1967	Norway	female	#16	427	High	Verified
1966	Norway	female	#12	491	High	Verified
1965	Norway	female	#14	490	High	Verified
1964	Norway	female	#14	508	High	Verified
1963	Norway	female	#20	380	High	Verified
1962	Norway	female	#15	405	High	Verified
1961	Norway	female	#16	385	High	Verified
1960	Norway	female	#12	420	High	Verified
1959	Norway	female	#7	473	High	Verified
1958	Norway	female	#8	496	High	Verified
1957	Norway	female	#8	538	High	Verified
1956	Norway	female	#7	562	High	Verified
1955	Norway	female	#7	534	High	Verified
1954	Norway	female	#10	497	High	Verified
1953	Norway	female	#10	498	High	Verified
1952	Norway	female	#9	490	High	Verified
1951	Norway	female	#11	401	High	Verified
1950	Norway	female	#13	392	High	Verified
1949	Norway	female	#15	382	High	Verified
1948	Norway	female	#18	401	High	Verified
1947	Norway	female	#18	382	High	Verified
1946	Norway	female	#19	372	High	Verified
1945	Norway	female	#22	336	High	Verified

Norway hub — collected by Statistics Norway (SSB)

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 1 registrar between 1945 and 2008, ranked in 58 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #7, first reached in 1955.

It held a top-100 place in 36 years, 36 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 562 births, registered in Norway in 1956.

1 registrar ranked it inside their own top 10.

Its record falls into 4 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 3 years.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Wei · #500, 16y
Wen · #393, 17y
Wendy · #8, 73y
Wenke · #181, 31y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 1 registrar, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Hedda · #7, 59y
Aud · #10, 59y
Sondre · #10, 59y
Frode · #3, 63y

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1940 and 1949.

Brian · #7, 79y
Christian · #7, 81y
Ellinor · #7, 81y
Helene · #7, 81y

Comparisons involving Wenche

Existing comparison pages where Wenche and another name were ranked in the same published list, in the same years, on the same scale. Each has its own evidence; none of them says the names are alike.

Longest shared records

Names ranked alongside Wenche in the same published list across at least 25 years.

Ingrid vs Wenche
In 1945 they stood at #27 and #22 in Norway · Girls, 5 places apart; by 2008 they were #6 and #621.
Ingrid · Wenche · 58 shared years, 1945–2008 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2008 Norway ranking
Wenche vs Solveig
In 1945 they stood at #22 and #14 in Norway · Girls, 8 places apart; by 2008 they were #621 and #63.
Wenche · Solveig · 58 shared years, 1945–2008 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2008 Norway ranking
Wenche vs Astrid
In 1945 they stood at #22 and #12 in Norway · Girls, 10 places apart; by 2008 they were #621 and #65.
Wenche · Astrid · 58 shared years, 1945–2008 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2008 Norway ranking

Order changes

Pairs where Wenche and another name exchanged position in a published list, taken as the final meaningful change.

Hilde vs Wenche
In 1960, Hilde moved ahead of Wenche in Norway · Girls — #12 and #7 the year before became #6 and #12.
Hilde · Wenche · 58 shared years, 1945–2008 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 1960 Norway ranking
Linn vs Wenche
In Norway · Girls, Linn moved into the top 50 at #24 in 1976 as Wenche fell out of it to #51, having been #46 the year before.
Linn · Wenche · 42 shared years, 1958–2008 · One took the other's place near the top
See the 1976 Norway ranking

Compared inside Norway lists

Pairs involving Wenche measured in Norway's own published lists — the registrar that recorded Wenche at its highest position.

Wenche vs Ellen
In 1945 they stood at #22 and #29 in Norway · Girls, 7 places apart; by 2008 they were #621 and #187.
Wenche · Ellen · 58 shared years, 1945–2008 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2008 Norway ranking
Wenche vs Ragnhild
In 1945 they stood at #22 and #18 in Norway · Girls, 4 places apart; by 2008 they were #621 and #195.
Wenche · Ragnhild · 58 shared years, 1945–2008 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2008 Norway ranking
Wenche vs Åse
In 1945 they stood at #22 and #25 in Norway · Girls, 3 places apart; by 2008 they were #621 and #310.
Wenche · Åse · 58 shared years, 1945–2008 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2008 Norway ranking

Norway overview→

Wenche was ranked #7 in Norway · Girls in 1955. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Wenche and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Wenche without appearing here.

Wenche moved ahead of

Tove Compare
In 1999 they stood at #638 and #362 in Norway · Girls; by 2000 that had become #483 and #575.
Grethe Compare
In 2002 they stood at #483 and #394 in Norway · Girls; by 2003 that had become #574 and #594.

Moved ahead of Wenche

Cassandra Compare
In 1995 they stood at #310 and #377 in Norway · Girls; by 1996 that had become #612 and #236.
Mary Compare
In 1998 they stood at #486 and #573 in Norway · Girls; by 1999 that had become #638 and #283.
Maia Compare
In 1992 they stood at #367 and #413 in Norway · Girls; by 1993 that had become #678 and #325.
Hedvig Compare
In 1995 they stood at #310 and #361 in Norway · Girls; by 1996 that had become #612 and #284.

Moved the opposite way to Wenche

Ada Compare
Between 1945 and 2008 in Norway · Girls, Wenche went from #22 to #621 while Ada went from #229 to #76.
Alma Compare
Between 1945 and 2008 in Norway · Girls, Wenche went from #22 to #621 while Alma went from #293 to #70.
Anna Compare
Between 1945 and 2008 in Norway · Girls, Wenche went from #22 to #621 while Anna went from #38 to #10.
Cecilie Compare
Between 1945 and 2008 in Norway · Girls, Wenche went from #22 to #621 while Cecilie went from #359 to #200.

Moved the same way as Wenche

Anita Compare
Between 1945 and 2008 in Norway · Girls, Wenche went from #22 to #621 and Anita from #162 to #353.
Ann Compare
Between 1945 and 2008 in Norway · Girls, Wenche went from #22 to #621 and Ann from #82 to #259.
Anne Compare
Between 1945 and 2008 in Norway · Girls, Wenche went from #22 to #621 and Anne from #1 to #77.
Annie Compare
Between 1945 and 2008 in Norway · Girls, Wenche went from #22 to #621 and Annie from #180 to #335.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Recorded in official data for Norway from 1945 to 2008. Highest recorded position: #7 in Norway in 1959. Source data last verified 2026-07-25.

Wenche

Wenche at a glance

What stands out in Wenche's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Wenche by decade in Norway · Girls

Wenche appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving Wenche

Longest shared records

Order changes

Compared inside Norway lists

Names published alongside Wenche

Wenche and the names beside it

Wenche moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Wenche

Moved the opposite way to Wenche

Moved the same way as Wenche

Wenche at a glance

What stands out in Wenche's record

Wenche by decade in Norway · Girls

Wenche appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving Wenche

Longest shared records

Order changes

Compared inside Norway lists

Names published alongside Wenche

Wenche and the names beside it

Wenche moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Wenche

Moved the opposite way to Wenche

Moved the same way as Wenche