The baby name Wednesday fits in with a long tradition of names inspired by days and seasons.
But it captures our attention thanks to the frightful, delightful – and fictional – Wednesday Addams.
WHAT DOES THE NAME WEDNESDAY MEAN?
We all know Wednesday. Hump day. Depending on how you count, it’s the third or fifth or even fourth day of the week.
In any case, it’s pretty much somewhere in the middle.
But Wednesday doesn’t mean middle. It comes from Old English, and it means “Woden’s day.”
Now this is complicated.
Woden ultimately comes from Norse god Odin, who was also the chief god in Germanic religions.
It’s a translation of the Latin dies Mercurii – day of Mercury, from the Roman god Mercury, the fleet-footed messenger, equivalent of the Greek Hermes.
The Romans viewed Mercury and Woden/Odin as equivalents, hence the translation. (Why would those two gods be linked? It’s not clear, but it appears in the historian Tacitus’ writing.
Romance languages tend to stay closer to the Latin: it’s miércoles in Spanish; mercredi in French; mercoledì in Italian.
English speakers stuck to the Germanic. The Old English wōdnesdæg was contracted and switched up to spellings like wednesdei, which looks almost current.
Eventually we all agreed on the spelling Wednesday.
WEDNESDAY’S CHILD IS FULL OF WOE
When it comes to the meaning of Wednesday, a phrase might pop into your head:
Wednesday’s child is full of woe.
It comes from a nursery rhyme, one that suggested a person’s fate is tied to their day of birth.
Monday’s child is fair of face; Tuesday’s child is full of grace. It’s mostly Wednesday that is out of luck.
Though in older versions, that dark destiny belonged to Friday’s child.
While written versions date to the 1800s, it’s circulated for centuries before that. It’s typically called “Monday’s Child.”
A 1934 play-turned-movie titled Wednesday’s Child inspired a 1946 movie, Child of Divorce. None of the iterations has aged particularly well, and no characters were named Wednesday. It does suggest that the reference was familiar in the first half of the 20th century.
The rhyme might be almost completely forgotten by parents now, save for one truly unforgettable character.
THE ADDAMS FAMILY
Creepy and kooky, and altogether spooky, the Addams family were created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams for The New Yorker. They first appeared way back in 1938, and remained part of the publication into the 1980s.
Like many a successful figure from newsprint, they’ve survived into the digital age. In fact, they’re thriving.
First adapted for television in 1964, the family consists of parents Gomez and Morticia, children Wednesday and Pugsley, uncle Fester, and Grandmama, plus their servant, Lurch. Other characters have joined them across the years, like cousin Itt and Thing. It was a 60s staple.
The family are wealthy and vaguely aristocratic, but they’re also dark, even macabre. They’re the perfect American family, and the exact opposite, too.
Following the initial television series, an animated series debuted.
Just as it had started to fade in the public imagination, along came a reboot.
BIG AND SMALL SCREENS
In 1991 and 1993, Addams family movies starred a young Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams.
The movies introduced the off-kilter family to a whole new generation.
And while the cast included Hollywood royalty – Oscar winning actress Anjelica Huston played Morticia! – Christina Ricci as Wednesday might have been the most famous.
Just as the movies faded, Netflix brought the character Wednesday Addams back once more.
Jenna Ortega packed up her black dresses to study at Nevermore Academy, her parents’ alma mater.
The character has consistently provided baby name inspiration in small numbers.
In fact, actor Rupert Grint – best known as Ron Weasley from the original Harry Potter series, and thus an alum of another famous supernatural school – gave the name to his daughter in 2020.
And yes, the daughter of Rupert Grint and partner Georgia Groome’s name was inspired by the television character.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME WEDNESDAY?
According to the US Social Security Administration, the baby name Wednesday has never appeared in the US Top 1000 rankings.
And yet, the statistics clearly show that every successful version of The Addams Family has boosted this unusual girl’s name.
We first find newborn babies named Wednesday in 1965. Fifteen girls received the name, just one year after the television series debuted.
It remained in use, in small numbers. In 1993, following the sequel Addams Family Values, 20 girls received the name.
An animated series, a short-lived television reboot, a Broadway musical, and another pair of big screen releases, this time animated, followed.
And the baby name Wednesday slowly climbed as a popular baby girl’s name. In 2021, 113 girls received the name.
Following the successful debut of Netflix’s Wednesday, a new all-time high of 153 girls were given the baby name Wednesday in 2023.
In 2024, that number dipped to 75 births.
With the series returning in 2025, though, chances are that more parents may consider Wednesday the perfect name for a child once more.
DAY OF THE WEEK NAMES
Even without the successful series, it’s arguable that Wednesday could be a lovely name for a child.
We often choose the names of months for our children: April, May, June, August, sometimes January, too. (And really, sometimes any month.) Summer, Autumn, and Winter are mainstream favorites.
Sunday and Tuesday have seen some use, too.
So why not Wednesday?
Fun fact: the fictional character’s full name is Wednesday Friday Addams.
It’s worth noting that some cultures, particularly in Africa, regularly bestow names based on the day of the week – or even time of day – a child is born. For example, Balarabe is a Hausa name meaning “born on Wednesday.” It’s not the only one.
WEARABLE WEDNESDAY
Of course, the spelling of the name Wednesday might be a hurdle. Native English speakers are used to shortening all those consonants to WENS-DAY. Or is it WENZ-DAY? But it’s not the most intuitive spelling.
Potential nicknames include Wendy, based on the letters. The sound suggests Winnie.
Even without a nickname, this feels like an increasingly possible option.
It’s too soon to call the baby name Wednesday a mainstream choice, but it’s worth a closer look.
What do you think of the baby name Wednesday?
First published on October 19, 2022, this post was revised on July 28, 2025.
