Gwenevere
A feminine given name of Welsh origin meaning "fair" or "blessed".
Name Census estimates that about 1,068 living Americans carry the first name Gwenevere. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gwenevere today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gwenevere births was 2019 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gwenevere. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Gwenevere with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 320,931 Americans
Peak year
2019
55 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,593
Tracked since 1921
Census
Gwenevere in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 836 people with the first name Gwenevere, which placed it at #14,177 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,177
National first-name rank
People counted
836
836 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gwenevere
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gwenevere is White at 59.1%. The next largest groups are Black (25.5%) and Hispanic (6.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gwenevere described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gwenevere at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.1% · 494
- Black or African American25.5% · 213
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 56
- Two or more races5.3% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 7
Popularity
Gwenevere: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gwenevere from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 436 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Gwenevere remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gwenevere 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 Gwenevere during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gweneveres live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Texas, California, Alabama recorded the most babies named Gwenevere, while New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gwenevere
The name Gwenevere, alternatively spelled as Guinevere or Gwenhwyfar, has its roots in the medieval Welsh language. It is derived from the elements "gwen" meaning fair, white, or blessed, and "hwyfar" meaning smooth or sublime. The name can be translated to mean "the fair and sublime one" or "the blessed smooth-browed one."
The earliest known reference to this name is found in the Arthurian legends, where Gwenevere is depicted as the beautiful and enigmatic queen consort of King Arthur. These legendary tales are believed to have originated in the 5th or 6th century, drawing inspiration from various Celtic myths and folklore.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the 12th-century work "Historia Regum Britanniae" (History of the Kings of Britain) by Geoffrey of Monmouth. In this text, Gwenevere is portrayed as the wife of Arthur and a central figure in the Arthurian court.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Gwenevere gained popularity in Europe, particularly in Britain and France, where it was often associated with the ideals of courtly love and chivalry. Notable historical figures who bore this name include Gwenevere of Brittany (c. 1188-1233), a Duchess of Brittany and Countess of Richmond.
In literature, Gwenevere has been a recurring character in numerous works inspired by the Arthurian legends, including Sir Thomas Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur" (1485) and Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Idylls of the King" (1859-1885). These literary works have contributed to the enduring popularity and recognition of the name.
Other notable individuals named Gwenevere include Gwenevere of Cihaloger (c. 1162-1233), a Welsh noblewoman and wife of Rhys ap Gruffydd, Prince of Deheubarth; Gwenevere, Countess of Anjou (c. 1290-1349), a French noblewoman and wife of Charles of Valois; and Gwenevere of Brittany (c. 1280-1337), a Breton noblewoman and daughter of Arthur II, Duke of Brittany.
While the name Gwenevere has maintained a strong association with the Arthurian legends, it has also been adopted and adapted across various cultures and languages, reflecting its enduring appeal and historical significance.
People
Gwenevere + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gwenevere 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
Gwenevere: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gwenevere?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,068 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gwenevere 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 320,931 US residents.
Is Gwenevere a common name?
We classify Gwenevere as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,157 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gwenevere most popular?
The single biggest year for Gwenevere was 2019, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gwenevere is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gwenevere in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 836 people with the name Gwenevere, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,177 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gwenevere in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gwenevere?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gwenevere appears almost entirely female. Of the 837 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gwenevere?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gwenevere is White at 59.1%. The next largest groups are Black (25.5%) and Hispanic (6.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gwenevere most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gwenevere in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.1% (494 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gwenevere in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gwenevere a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gwenevere 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.
Is Gwenevere still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gwenevere in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gwenevere can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are called Gwenevere?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.