Gwenyth
A feminine name of Welsh origin meaning "smooth, blessed".
Name Census estimates that about 3,053 living Americans carry the first name Gwenyth. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gwenyth today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gwenyth births was 2013 (176 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gwenyth. 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 Gwenyth with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Gwenyth is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.1K
~ 1 in 112,268 Americans
Peak year
2013
176 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,125
Tracked since 1921
Census
Gwenyth in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,624 people with the first name Gwenyth, which placed it at #6,177 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
#6,177
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,624 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gwenyth
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gwenyth is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Gwenyth 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 Gwenyth at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.2% · 2,236
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 166
- Two or more races5.1% · 135
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 56
- Black or African American0.7% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
Popularity
Gwenyth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gwenyth from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,348 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gwenyth 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 Gwenyth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gwenyths live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. California, New York, Ohio recorded the most babies named Gwenyth, while Kansas, Georgia, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 69 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gwenyth
The name Gwenyth is a Welsh feminine given name derived from the Welsh elements "gwen" meaning fair, white, or blessed, and "yth" meaning aspect or being. It is believed to have originated in the 6th century during the medieval period in Wales.
The earliest known use of the name Gwenyth can be traced back to a 6th-century Welsh princess named Gwenyth ferch Culvynawyd, who was the daughter of a powerful king in what is now northern Wales. This suggests that the name was in use among the Welsh nobility and royalty during this time.
In the 9th century, the name Gwenyth is mentioned in the Welsh legal text "Cyfnerth Laws" as one of the names given to daughters of the Welsh aristocracy. This further solidifies the name's long-standing association with Welsh culture and tradition.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Gwenyth was Gwenyth Goch, a 14th-century Welsh warrior and rebel leader who fought against English rule in Wales. Her nickname "Goch" means "the Red" in Welsh, likely referring to her fiery hair or her fierce determination in battle.
In the 16th century, Gwenyth verch Ieuan ap Rhydderch, a Welsh noblewoman, was recorded as one of the last speakers of the Cumbric language, an ancient Celtic language once spoken in northern England and southern Scotland.
During the 17th century, Gwenyth Pugh, a Welsh Quaker and religious leader, was known for her efforts in promoting education and religious tolerance in Wales.
Another notable figure was Gwenyth Llewelyn, a 19th-century Welsh author and poet who wrote extensively about Welsh culture and the preservation of the Welsh language.
Throughout its long history, the name Gwenyth has maintained its strong connection to Welsh heritage and has been borne by various notable individuals in various fields, from warriors and rebel leaders to religious figures and writers.
People
Gwenyth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gwenyth 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
Gwenyth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gwenyth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,053 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gwenyth 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 112,268 US residents.
Is Gwenyth a common name?
We classify Gwenyth as "Rare". It ranks above 95.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,212 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gwenyth most popular?
The single biggest year for Gwenyth was 2013, when 176 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gwenyth is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gwenyth in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,624 people with the name Gwenyth, or 0.87 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,177 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 Gwenyth 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 Gwenyth?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gwenyth appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,629 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Gwenyth?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gwenyth is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Gwenyth most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gwenyth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.2% (2,236 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 Gwenyth in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gwenyth a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gwenyth 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 Gwenyth still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gwenyth 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 Gwenyth 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 Gwenyth?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.