Proud of your name? Join the club

"HAYLEY MICK
From Friday's Globe and Mail
March 5, 2009 at 9:59 PM EST
Wendy Russ says it started back in elementary school. Classmates chimed 'Wiinndy' every time it got blustery outside. After that, it only got worse.
Teenage boys snickered when the Wendy's fast-food chain came out with the slogan: 'Where's the beef?' Then came the 'hot, juicy burger' campaign. 'You can imagine how that went over,' says Ms. Russ, who lives in Arkansas.
Still, she loved her name because it's different 'but not weird.' So as the Internet heated up in the early 1990s, she snapped up wendy.com — which soon became a beacon for Wendys worldwide."

"So those Freds are going to have to watch out," Ms. Russ says.

The site now represents an organization of 90 members who've bonded over nicknames (Wendikins, Wendorama, Wendy Lou Who) and favourite movie characters (Wendy Darling of Peter Pan). A revamp of the website is now in the works; there's even talk of a Wendy convention.

globeandmail.com: Proud of your name? Join the club:

(Note: I have been a member of the World Wide Wendy's since 1996 -- http://www.wendy.com/)