Wanona
Meaning of Wanona
In contemporary onomastic literature, Wanona is generally interpreted as an orthographic and phonological variant of the Dakota (Sioux) appellation Winona, a term that, in its source language, designates the “first-born daughter” and thereby encodes both birth order and anticipated familial stature. While its indigenous etymology situates the name firmly within the cultural and linguistic heritage of the Northern Plains peoples, Wanona entered wider Anglo-American usage during the early twentieth century, appearing with modest regularity in United States birth records from 1915 through the mid-1970s; its statistical presence—never exceeding single-digit annual occurrences—underscores a pattern of selective adoption rather than broad diffusion. The name’s historical resonance is amplified by literary and musical portraits of idealized Native heroines in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century popular culture, associations that subsequently informed mid-century naming tastes even as they risked romanticizing their source traditions. In present discourse, Wanona retains a niche appeal: it offers phonetic familiarity through its kinship with the better-known Winona, yet preserves a distinct visual identity, a combination that can satisfy parents seeking a culturally rooted but comparatively uncommon choice.
Pronunciation
English
- Pronunced as wuh-NOH-nuh (/wəˈnoʊnə/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
