Recent in Baby
When Baby Resists SolidsWhen Baby Resists SolidsBaby Biting TipsBaby Biting Tips5 Tips To Help Prevent Highchair Injuries5 Tips To Help Prevent Highchair InjuriesWhen Baby and Pet MeetWhen Baby and Pet MeetTreatments for ColicTreatments for ColicBaby Milestones – The First YearBaby Milestones – The First YearTips for Relieving Teething PainTips for Relieving Teething PainBenefits of Making Your Own Baby FoodBenefits of Making Your Own Baby Food

Home › Baby Names Directory › Wenonah

Wenonah

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Wenonah

Pronounced wuh-NOH-nuh /wəˈnoʊnə/Medium

Meaning: Wenonah is a variant of Winona, from the Dakota Sioux Wenonah, a traditional name given to a firstborn daughter. It became widely known as the name of Hiawatha's mother in Longfellow's 1855 poem The Song of Hiawatha.Low

In 30 seconds: Wenonah is a Dakota name meaning 'firstborn daughter', a variant of Winona, made familiar by Longfellow's poem (said wuh-NOH-nuh).
💕 Browse more names
Origin MediumDakota, English
MeaningWenonah is a variant of Winona, from the Dakota Sioux Wenonah, a traditional name given to a firstborn daughter. It became widely known as the name of Hiawatha's mother in Longfellow's 1855 poem The Song of Hiawatha.
U.S. rank (2017)#15794 ↘ Falling
2017 U.S. births6 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)
Peak year1916
Total births (all-time)≈ 506

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 191619032017

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Wenonah comes from the Dakota Sioux, where it marked a firstborn daughter. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow gave the name to Hiawatha's mother in The Song of Hiawatha, and readers charmed by the poem carried the name, in this and the Winona spelling, into wider use.

Wenonah was never common, drawing only a couple dozen girls a year even at its high around 1916 and staying rare thereafter. It reads as a graceful name with genuine Dakota roots and a strong literary echo; a girl given it long ago would be of a great-grandmother's generation now.

Did you know? In Dakota tradition Wenonah was the customary name for a family's firstborn daughter, a place in the birth order rather than an invented word.
Overall data confidence 55%
References - Wenonah — variant of Winona, Dakota 'firstborn daughter'; Longfellow's Hiawatha

Variations

WinonaWynonahWenona

Nicknames

NonaWinnie

Famous Bearers

  • Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Wenonah…

Winona— the common spelling of the same Dakota name
Wynona— a sister spelling of the name
Ramona— a like flowing girl's name of the era
Oneida— another Native American-rooted girl's name

Explore names like Wenonah

By themevintageliterarynative-americandakota

All themes →All meanings →All origins →

Frequently Asked

What does the name Wenonah mean?

It is a variant of Winona, a Dakota name meaning 'firstborn daughter'.

How do you pronounce Wenonah?

It's said wuh-NOH-nuh /wəˈnoʊnə/, three syllables, stress on the second.

Is Wenonah a boy or girl name?

Wenonah is used as a girl's name.

Is Wenonah a popular name?

No, it was always rare, seen only faintly in the early twentieth century.

💬 Ask Nia