Wendy was most likely first used by J. M. Barrie, a Scottish author and the creator of Peter Pan. His friend Margaret Henley probably inspired him to invent the name Wendy due to Margaret's funny pronunciation. Later on, Barrie used the name in his Peter Pan story for the character of Wendy Darling. Some sources suggest that the name could also be a diminutive of Gwendolen, or Wanda.