Gawain

With a noble air and a distinctive yet familiar sound, Gawain is drawn from Arthurian legend, in which he is one of King Arthur's loyal knights and his nephew. Also appearing as the hero of the 14th century poem, Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, his name is possibly borrowed from the Welsh Gwalchmai, meaning "May hawk".

While similar names such as Wayne, Owen, and Gwen are familiar choices, Gawain has long been superseded by its Scottish form, Gavin. In fact, since records began in the 1880s, only 85 boys have ever been called Gawain in the US.

Pronounced guh-WAIN.

As of October 2026, Gawain ranked #12658 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #3407 in 1974, Nameberry popularity #951.