Wayne

Where Wayne comes from

An occupational surname for a cartwright, Old English wægen (“wagon”). Cf. wain.
— Wiktionary's entry for Wayne
  • 1 syllable
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #356 among boys — 23 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1946
    Peak, #29
    8,807 babies named Wayne — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1961
    Wayne Gretzky born
    Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  4. 1968
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #63.
  5. 1985
    Wayne Rooney born
    English footballer and manager
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname.
Namesakes
  • Wayne Rooney · English footballer and manager, born 1985
  • Wayne Gretzky · Canadian ice hockey player and coach, born 1961
  • Wayne Bridge · English footballer, born 1980
  • Wayne Knight · American actor, born 1955
  • Wayne Shorter · American jazz saxophonist and composer, 1933–2023

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.