Vocab: Winona / Wenona

This feminine given name is an anglicized form derived from the Native American (Siouan, Dakota-Lakota) “Winúŋna”, meaning “firstborn daughter”, term which was assigned as a name to first-born children if they were female. The name was predominantly popular in the 20s, and after thanks to the American actress Winona Ryder. John Koontz suggested that the name was a compound of “wi- (female”) plus “no” (first) plus “-na” (a diminutive suffix) and thus a reflex of the Proto-Siouan numeral “*rǫ/nǫ” (one).