Gwenn
A feminine Breton name meaning "blessed, white, or fair".
Name Census estimates that about 1,017 living Americans carry the first name Gwenn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gwenn today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gwenn births was 1955 (65 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gwenn. 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
1.0K
~ 1 in 337,025 Americans
Peak year
1955
65 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2022 SSA rank
#16,162
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Gwenn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gwenn from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 465 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gwenn 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 Gwenn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gwenns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Gwenn, while Minnesota, Ohio, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gwenn
The given name Gwenn has its origins in the Breton language, spoken in the northwestern region of France known as Brittany. It is derived from the Breton word "gwenn," which means "white" or "fair." The name can be traced back to the early medieval period, around the 6th to 8th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Gwenn can be found in the Breton hagiographical literature, specifically in the life of St. Gwenn, a 6th-century Breton saint. She is also known as St. Candida, which is the Latin equivalent of the Breton name Gwenn.
In the 11th century, the name appears in the form "Guena" in the Cartulary of Redon, a medieval manuscript containing charters and legal documents related to the Abbey of Redon in Brittany. This suggests that variations of the name, such as Gwena and Gwenaelle, were also in use during this time.
Notable historical figures bearing the name Gwenn include Gwenn ap Liwyn, a 12th-century Welsh prince and warrior who fought against the Norman invasion of Wales. Another famous bearer of the name was Gwenn de Montfort (c. 1115-1166), a Breton noblewoman and the wife of Ralph de Gael, Earl of Norfolk.
In the realm of literature, the name appears in the Breton folktales and legends, often associated with characters embodying purity and innocence, reflecting the name's meaning of "white" or "fair."
Gwenn ap Rhys (c. 1292-1353) was a Welsh nobleman and military leader who fought in the Wars of Scottish Independence alongside Robert the Bruce. Gwenn Savaric (c. 1230-1300) was a Breton poet and troubadour known for his love songs and lyrical compositions.
Throughout history, the name Gwenn has maintained a strong presence in the Breton and Welsh cultural traditions, often evoking associations with purity, fairness, and the natural world.
People
Gwenn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gwenn 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
Gwenn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gwenn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,017 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gwenn 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 337,025 US residents.
Is Gwenn a common name?
We classify Gwenn as "Rare". It ranks above 90.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,502 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gwenn most popular?
The single biggest year for Gwenn was 1955, when 65 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gwenn is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gwenn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gwenn 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.