Gwendolyne
Feminine name of Welsh origin meaning "ring, circle, fair-browed woman".
Name Census estimates that about 160 living Americans carry the first name Gwendolyne. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gwendolyne today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gwendolyne births was 1924 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gwendolyne. 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
160
~ 1 in 2,142,215 Americans
Peak year
1924
12 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2023 SSA rank
#16,013
Tracked since 1905
Popularity
Gwendolyne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gwendolyne from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 58 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Gwendolyne remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gwendolyne 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 Gwendolyne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gwendolyne
The name Gwendolyne has its origins in the Celtic language of ancient Britain and can be traced back to the 6th century AD. It is derived from the Welsh elements "gwen" meaning white, fair or blessed, and the suffix "-dolyne" meaning ring, circle or harmony. The name's meaning is often interpreted as "white ring" or "blessed ring."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Welsh folktales and legends known as the Mabinogion, where a character named Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio is mentioned. This legendary figure was said to be a prince of Arfon in northwestern Wales during the 6th century.
In the 12th century, the name Gwendolyne appeared in the French epic poem "Perceval, the Story of the Grail" by Chrétien de Troyes. The character Gwendolyne was a beautiful and virtuous maiden who played a significant role in the story.
One of the earliest known people to bear the name Gwendolyne was Gwendolyne de Lacy (c. 1141-1195), a Norman noblewoman and the wife of Gilbert de Lacy, Lord of Meath in Ireland.
Another notable historical figure was Gwendolyne of Boulogne (c. 1180-1246), a French noblewoman who served as the Countess of Boulogne in her own right.
In the 15th century, Gwendolyne Stradling (c. 1450-1505) was a Welsh heiress and the wife of Sir Edward Stradling, a prominent figure in the Wars of the Roses.
During the Tudor period in England, Gwendolyne Bray (c. 1510-1557) was a gentlewoman and a close friend of Queen Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII.
In the realm of literature, Gwendolyne Fairfax (1890-1944) was an English novelist and playwright known for her works set in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.
People
Gwendolyne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gwendolyne 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
Gwendolyne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gwendolyne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 160 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gwendolyne 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 2,142,215 US residents.
Is Gwendolyne a common name?
We classify Gwendolyne as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 342 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gwendolyne most popular?
The single biggest year for Gwendolyne was 1924, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gwendolyne is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gwendolyne a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gwendolyne 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.