Wednesday is a usually feminine given name, taken from the day of the week. It came into greater use after

Charles Addams Charles Samuel Addams (January 7, 1912 – September 29, 1988) was an American cartoonist known for his darkly humorous and macabre characters. Some of his recurring characters became known as the Addams Family, and were subsequently populari ...

chose the name for

Wednesday Addams Wednesday Friday Addams is a character from the Addams Family multimedia franchise created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. She is typically portrayed as a morbid and emotionally reserved child that is fascinated by the macabre, often ...

on the 1964 television sitcom

The Addams Family The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...

, which was based on the cartoons he originally published in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' magazine beginning in 1938. Addams based the name of the character on the line "Wednesday's child is full of woe" from the nursery rhyme ''

Monday's Child "Monday's Child" is one of many fortune-telling songs, popular as nursery rhymes for children. It is supposed to tell a child's character or future from their day of birth and to help young children remember the seven days of the week. As with ma ...

''. Fifteen newborn American girls were given the name Wednesday in 1965, the year after the show first aired, and at least five American girls have been given the name in each of the years since 1965. Usage of the name has increased in the United States since 2006, prompted by revivals of the Wednesday Addams character, most recently in the 2022

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

streaming series ''

Wednesday Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. In English, the name is derived from Old English and Middle English , 'day of Woden', reflecting ...

''. Actors

Rupert Grint Rupert Alexander Lloyd Grint (; born 24 August 1988) is an English actor. He rose to fame for his role as Ron Weasley in the ''Harry Potter'' film series, for which he was cast at age eleven, having previously acted only in school plays and ...

and

Georgia Groome Georgia Isobel Groome (born 11 February 1992) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''London to Brighton'' (2006) and '' Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging'' (2008). Early life Groome was born on 11 February 1992 i ...

were inspired by Wednesday Addams when they named their daughter in 2020, a choice which drew media attention. In an interview, Grint predicted the name would continue to increase in popularity due to the Netflix series. Notable people and characters with the name include:

Nickname

* Wendy "Wednesday" Martin (born circa 1965), American author and cultural critic

Stage name

Wednesday Mourning Wednesday Mourning is an American actress and model. She specializes in the Goth subculture and has been influential in goth fashion, as well as being the celebrity spokesmodel for Atelier Gothique and appearing as a model for the band My Chemi ...

, American actress and model

Fictional characters

, from the Addams Family multimedia franchise

Notes

{{Given name English feminine given names Feminine given names