Meaning & Origin
A female given name from Welsh.
Glenda is a girl's and boy's baby name of Welsh origin, possibly a feminine form of Glenn (from the Gaelic gleann, 'valley') or a blend of Welsh elements including glan ('clean,' 'pure') or glyn ('valley'). It became popular in the English-speaking world in the mid-20th century.
Glenda peaked in the U.S. around the 1940s–1950s. Dame Glenda Jackson — Oscar-winning actress and later British MP — is its most distinguished modern bearer, a name with genuine gravitas. It has a soft Welsh lyricism that hasn't yet been rediscovered by the vintage revival crowd.