Glynis
A feminine Welsh name meaning "fair" or "smooth".
Name Census estimates that about 1,613 living Americans carry the first name Glynis. It is a predominantly female name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Glynis today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Glynis births was 1963 (283 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Glynis. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 212,495 Americans
Peak year
1963
283 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1963 SSA rank
#4,277
Tracked since 1939
Gender
Gender distribution for Glynis
Out of the 2,024 babies given the name Glynis since 1880, 99.5% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Glynis as a male name
- Ranked #4,277 in 1963
- 5 male births in 1963
- Peak: 1961 (5 births)
Glynis as a female name
- Ranked #18,487 in 2008
- 5 female births in 2008
- Peak: 1963 (278 births)
Popularity
Glynis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Glynis from the 1930s through to the 2000s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 1,141 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Glynis by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Glynis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Glynis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Glynis, while Washington, South Carolina, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Glynis
The name Glynis is a Welsh feminine name derived from the Welsh word "glyn," meaning "valley." It is believed to have originated in Wales during the Middle Ages, when many Welsh names were first recorded.
Glynis was a popular name among the ancient Britons, who inhabited Wales and other parts of the British Isles. The name was likely used to refer to a woman who lived in or was associated with a particular valley or glen.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Glynis can be found in the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh folklore and mythology dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries. In these tales, several characters bear names similar to Glynis, such as Glynnys and Glyndwr.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Glynis. One of the earliest recorded was Glynis Fychan (c. 1420-1490), a Welsh noblewoman and landowner who lived during the 15th century. Another notable figure was Glynis Meredith (1550-1610), a Welsh poet and bard who contributed to the preservation of Welsh literature and culture.
In the 20th century, Glynis Johns (born 1923) was a renowned Welsh actress who appeared in numerous films and television shows, including Mary Poppins and A Majority of One. Glynis Barber (born 1955) is a British actress best known for her role in the soap opera EastEnders.
Another notable individual was Glynis Nunn (1944-2011), an Australian herpetologist and wildlife conservationist who dedicated her life to studying and protecting reptiles. She was instrumental in establishing several reptile parks and conservation initiatives in Australia.
While the name Glynis has Welsh origins, it has gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in English-speaking countries, where it is often used as a variant of the name Glynnis or Glenys.
People
Glynis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Glynis as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Glynis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Glynis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,613 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Glynis going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 212,495 US residents.
Is Glynis a common name?
We classify Glynis as "Rare". It ranks above 92.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,024 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Glynis most popular?
The single biggest year for Glynis was 1963, when 283 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Glynis is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Glynis a female name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Glynis in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.