Gwenlyn
A feminine Welsh name meaning "from the blessed woodland".
Name Census estimates that about 73 living Americans carry the first name Gwenlyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gwenlyn today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gwenlyn births was 1943 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gwenlyn. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Gwenlyn is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Gwenlyns were born before 1960.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gwenlyn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
73
~ 1 in 4,695,265 Americans
Peak year
1943
9 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1964 SSA rank
#6,275
Tracked since 1934
Census
Gwenlyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 206 people with the first name Gwenlyn, which placed it at #37,688 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
#37,688
National first-name rank
People counted
206
206 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gwenlyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gwenlyn is White at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.4%). 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 Gwenlyn 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 Gwenlyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.7% · 158
- Black or African American15.0% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 5
- Two or more races2.4% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 2
Popularity
Gwenlyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gwenlyn from the 1930s through to the 1960s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 60 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gwenlyn 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 Gwenlyn 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 Gwenlyn
The name Gwenlyn has its roots in the ancient Celtic language of Brittonic, which was spoken in what is now Great Britain and parts of France during the 5th to 6th centuries CE. It is derived from the combination of the Welsh words "gwen," meaning fair or blessed, and "llyn," meaning lake or pool. Thus, the name Gwenlyn can be interpreted as "fair lake" or "blessed pool."
The name is believed to have originated among the Britons, the Celtic inhabitants of Britain during the Iron Age and Roman period. It was likely used as a reference to a specific geographic feature, such as a lake or pond, that held significance for a particular community or tribe.
While there are no known historical references to the name Gwenlyn in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its Celtic roots suggest it may have been used by the pagan Britons before the introduction of Christianity to the region.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Gwenlyn dates back to the 12th century, when a noblewoman by that name was mentioned in a Welsh chronicle. Unfortunately, details about her life and accomplishments are scarce.
Throughout history, there have been a few notable individuals who bore the name Gwenlyn. In the late 14th century, Gwenlyn ap Rhys was a Welsh landowner and military leader who fought in the Glyndŵr Rising against English rule. He lived from approximately 1360 to 1415.
In the 16th century, Gwenlyn Vaughan was a renowned Welsh poet and bard, known for her skillful use of the traditional Welsh poetic forms. She lived from around 1530 to 1590.
During the 17th century, Gwenlyn Jones was a Welsh scholar and linguist who made significant contributions to the study of the Welsh language. He lived from 1620 to 1675.
In the 19th century, Gwenlyn Williams was a prominent Welsh politician and advocate for Welsh language rights. He served as a member of Parliament and played a key role in the establishment of the University of Wales. He lived from 1828 to 1897.
Another notable figure was Gwenlyn Parry, a Welsh opera singer who performed in the early 20th century. She was renowned for her powerful soprano voice and portrayed leading roles in operas across Europe and North America. She lived from 1892 to 1962.
People
Gwenlyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gwenlyn 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
Gwenlyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gwenlyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 73 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gwenlyn 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 4,695,265 US residents.
Is Gwenlyn a common name?
We classify Gwenlyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 139 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gwenlyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Gwenlyn was 1943, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gwenlyn is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gwenlyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 206 people with the name Gwenlyn, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,688 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 Gwenlyn 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 Gwenlyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gwenlyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 198 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 Gwenlyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gwenlyn is White at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.4%). 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 Gwenlyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gwenlyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.7% (158 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 Gwenlyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gwenlyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gwenlyn 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 Gwenlyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gwenlyn 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 Gwenlyn 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 Americans are named Gwenlyn?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.