Gwendolyn

What Gwendolyn means

Variant of Gwendolen, meaning “white, fair, blessed + ring, bow…

variant of Gwendolen || From Welsh Gwendolen, from gwen (“white, fair, blessed”) +‎ dolen (“ring, bow, hair, brow”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Gwendolyn” (revision 91793707) and “Gwendolen” (revision 93653432), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Gwendolyn?

US: Rising: up from #405 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #1601 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1953, when 3,519 girls got the name (#112 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 1,895 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 11,012 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in MT (2.12 per 1,000 girls), NH (1.84 per 1,000 girls), OR (1.69 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Gwendolyn is #360 in the US and #1362 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Gwendolyn were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

Other spellings

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Gwendolynn34 US
• Gwendalyn17 US
• Gwendoline8 US · 9 E&W
• Gwendolen11 US · 4 E&W
• Gwendalynn12 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Gwendolyn

Girls

• Gwen#725Same root as Wendy, meaning “watercourse with a bend + island”^*
• Guinevere#898Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #898 vs #2,788 in 2025
• Rory#230“red-haired king”^*
• Ellis#682“benevolent, kind”^*
• Nola#821Editor’s note Down from #769 in 2015 to #821 in 2025 in the US
• Winifred#922Editor’s note Up from #1,437 in 2015 to #922 in 2025 in the US

For a brother

• Rowan#59“little red one”^*
• Alistair#897“to defend + man”^*
• Rhys#410Welsh, from Old Welsh Ris, meaning “ardor, fiery warrior”^*
• Ellis#243“benevolent, kind”^*
• Kian#400Editor’s note Up from #489 in 2015 to #400 in 2025 in the US
• Killian#417Editor’s note Down from #349 in 2015 to #417 in 2025 in the US

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Irish & Celtic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Gwendolyn’s. Rank is US 2025.