Gwendolyn
Top 1000
About Gwendolyn
One spelling variation that's more popular than the original, this somewhat old-fashioned name might be in honor of poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African-American to win a Pulitzer prize for poetry, or may be a way to get to the modern short form Gwen.
In the Oscar Wilde play, the character's name is spelled the traditional Welsh way, Gwendolen, as it was for one of the principal characters in George Eliot's Daniel Deronda, and Gwendolen was also Merlin's wife in Arthurian legend.
Pronounced GWEN-duh-lin.
As of October 2026, Gwendolyn ranked #360 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #112 in 1953, Nameberry popularity #286.
Editor's take: The name Gwendolyn is a girl's name of Welsh origin meaning "white ring".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #421 | 764 | 427.7 |
| 2015 | #406 | 791 | 443.1 |
| 2016 | #402 | 826 | 466.1 |
| 2017 | #377 | 822 | 476.1 |
| 2018 | #371 | 845 | 496.7 |
| 2019 | #370 | 852 | 507.6 |
| 2020 | #378 | 820 | 507.3 |
| 2021 | #397 | 794 | 483.9 |
| 2022 | #389 | 801 | 488.4 |
| 2023 | #378 | 814 | 507.3 |
| 2024 | #393 | 802 | 495 |
| 2025 | #360 | 848 | 527.6 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Gwendolyn.
- Colette
- Leona
- Francesca
- Simone
- Delia
- Eleanora
- Cecily
- Coraline
- Lucille
- Sylvia
- Isobel
- Gwyneth
- Rosalind
- Claudia
- Leonora
- Celia
- Meredith
- Elaine
- Cecelia
- Mirabel
Gwendolyn on lists
Famous Gwendolyns
- Gwendolyn "Gwen" Ifill
American TV journalist
- Gwendolyn Bennett
American poet and fiction writer
- Gwendolyn Bradley
American operatic soprano
- Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks
American poet
- Gwendolyn Margaret MacEwen
Canadian poet and novelist
- Gwendolyn Elaine Armstrong
American civil rights activist
- Gwendolyn Fiel Garcia
Filipina politician
- Gwendolyn "Gwen" Guthrie
American singer,songwriter
- Gwendolyn King
American businesswoman and Social Security administrator
- Gwendolyn "Gwen" Watts
English actress
- (Gwendolyn) Avril Coleridge
Taylor, English pianist, conductor, and composer
- Gwendolyn Lee "Gwen" Byrd
daughter of singer Tammy Wynette
Gwendolyn in pop culture
- Guendoloena (Gwendolen)
Merlin's wife in some Arthurian legends (e.g. Vita Merlini)
- Gwendolyn "Gwen" Tennyson
character in animated series Ben,10
- Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stacy
character in the Spider,Man series
- Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper
a main character on TV's "The Wonder Years"
- Gwendolyn Post
character on TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
- Gwendolyn "Gwen" Thompson
character in American Girl film "Chrissa Stands Strong"
- Gwendolyn Shepherd
character in the German Gem Trilogy
- Gwendolyn Sommerset
character in video game "Ravenhearst "
- Gwendolyn
character in video game "Odin Sphere"
- Gwendolyn
Princess of Treecrest, character in "The Wide,Awake Princess" by E. D. Baker
- Gwendolyn “Gwen”
character in the Rooster Teeth animated series "Camp Camp"
- Gwendolyn "Gwen" Bouchard
character in podcast "The Magnus Protocol"
- Gwendolyn Clawthorne
character from the animated show "The Owl House"