According to the legend, the princess Wanda reigned on Cracow. Girl of king Krak, founder of the city, it sacrificed herself while throwing herself in the the Vistula to escape the marriage with German prince Rytygier and to thus avoid the tender of her people. The name of this legendary princess is evoked for the first time by the Master Vincent Kadlubek, chronicler Polish of the 13th century. The etymology of its name remains confused. This popular first name in Poland is pagan, and the girls who carry it are in general called " Janina" , in other words " Jeanne" , because Wanda was celebrated the night of June 23rd, takes care of St Jean. In the Polish tradition, she was regarded a little as the French Jeanne of Arc because of her courage and her national resistance to the invader.

Some fore-mentioned personalities Wanda

• Wanda Landowska (1879-1959), pianist and Polish harpsichordist,
• Wanda Jackson (1937-), rockeuse American,
• Wanda Rutkiewicz (1943-1992), Polish mountaineer,
• Wanda Ribeiro de Vasconcelos (1962-), the Lio singer,

… and " a fish named Wanda " , film américano-British (1988)