English
wannabe
Written form of a reduction of want to be, analyzable as wanna + be.
Proto-Germanic *beuną ‘to be’
Proto-West Germanic *beun
Old English bēon ‘to be’
Middle English been ‘to be’
English be
The story
Written form of a reduction of want to be, analyzable as wanna + be. Wannabe can be considered a conversion, category change, or functional shift. While occasionally appearing in print, usually as a less reduced phrase, the popularity of the word took off in the mid-1980s following the Madonna wannabe fashion trend: “wannabe”, in Google Books Ngram Viewer.
Today it means
noun Someone who wishes to be someone or do something, but lacks the qualifications or talent; an overeager amateur; an aspirant.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / wannabe