Gwen
Gwen was given to 384 girls in 2025, #725 among girls’ names; 32,911 Americans have been recorded with it since 1890 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 24,100 Americans named Gwen and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (73% of everyone recorded); the median is 61 years old and half are between 23 and 70.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Gwen by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Gwen mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Gwen is “a female given name from Welsh.”
Also “a diminutive of the female given names Gwendolen and Guinevere”
A female given name from Welsh.
Borrowed from Welsh Gwen.
Clipping of Gwendolen. Doublet of Wendy.
Clipping of Guinevere. Doublet of Jen.
/ɡwɛn/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Gwen?
#725 among girls’ names, 2025
Gwen rose from #749 in 2015 to #725 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.21 to 0.24 per 1,000.
951 babies in 1959, the peak
Gwen peaked in 1959, when 951 babies were given it (942 girls, #295 among girls’ names). The 384 births of 2025 are 40% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 384 | #725 | 0.24 |
| 2024 | 403 | #698 | 0.25 |
| 2023 | 341 | #817 | 0.21 |
| 2022 | 329 | #851 | 0.20 |
| 2021 | 325 | #849 | 0.20 |
| 2020 | 331 | #823 | 0.20 |
| 2019 | 328 | #828 | 0.20 |
| 2018 | 295 | #910 | 0.17 |
| 2017 | 317 | #864 | 0.18 |
| 2016 | 373 | #766 | 0.21 |
Every recorded year (134)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 377 | #749 | 0.21 |
| 2014 | 278 | #963 | 0.16 |
| 2013 | 266 | #954 | 0.15 |
| 2012 | 224 | #1,110 | 0.13 |
| 2011 | 196 | #1,225 | 0.11 |
| 2010 | 163 | #1,410 | 0.09 |
| 2009 | 185 | #1,308 | 0.10 |
| 2008 | 201 | #1,252 | 0.11 |
| 2007 | 186 | #1,311 | 0.10 |
| 2006 | 160 | #1,418 | 0.08 |
| 2005 | 156 | #1,383 | 0.08 |
| 2004 | 123 | #1,594 | 0.07 |
| 2003 | 149 | #1,357 | 0.08 |
| 2002 | 134 | #1,428 | 0.07 |
| 2001 | 91 | #1,907 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 68 | #2,288 | 0.04 |
| 1999 | 55 | #2,580 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 62 | #2,289 | 0.04 |
| 1997 | 60 | #2,267 | 0.03 |
| 1996 | 47 | #2,637 | 0.03 |
| 1995 | 37 | #3,109 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 51 | #2,474 | 0.03 |
| 1993 | 41 | #2,897 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 47 | #2,618 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 57 | #2,270 | 0.03 |
| 1990 | 55 | #2,296 | 0.03 |
| 1989 | 64 | #1,980 | 0.03 |
| 1988 | 50 | #2,253 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 80 | #1,572 | 0.05 |
| 1986 | 69 | #1,698 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 104 | #1,290 | 0.06 |
| 1984 | 108 | #1,210 | 0.06 |
| 1983 | 132 | #1,053 | 0.08 |
| 1982 | 136 | #1,059 | 0.08 |
| 1981 | 153 | #961 | 0.09 |
| 1980 | 175 | #875 | 0.11 |
| 1979 | 210 | #767 | 0.13 |
| 1978 | 206 | #751 | 0.13 |
| 1977 | 218 | #710 | 0.14 |
| 1976 | 275 | #590 | 0.19 |
| 1975 | 323 | #535 | 0.22 |
| 1974 | 284 | #568 | 0.19 |
| 1973 | 214 | #697 | 0.15 |
| 1972 | 301 | #555 | 0.20 |
| 1971 | 368 | #511 | 0.22 |
| 1970 | 354 | #534 | 0.20 |
| 1969 | 362 | #514 | 0.21 |
| 1968 | 363 | #511 | 0.22 |
| 1967 | 373 | #494 | 0.23 |
| 1966 | 463 | #439 | 0.27 |
| 1965 | 484 | #426 | 0.27 |
| 1964 | 612 | #391 | 0.32 |
| 1963 | 670 | #375 | 0.35 |
| 1962 | 859 | #320 | 0.44 |
| 1961 | 882 | #310 | 0.44 |
| 1960 | 893 | #317 | 0.44 |
| 1959 | 942 | #295 | 0.47 |
| 1958 | 893 | #299 | 0.44 |
| 1957 | 830 | #317 | 0.41 |
| 1956 | 762 | #317 | 0.38 |
| 1955 | 740 | #316 | 0.38 |
| 1954 | 682 | #324 | 0.35 |
| 1953 | 573 | #354 | 0.30 |
| 1952 | 472 | #380 | 0.25 |
| 1951 | 429 | #395 | 0.24 |
| 1950 | 457 | #378 | 0.27 |
| 1949 | 446 | #372 | 0.26 |
| 1948 | 448 | #374 | 0.26 |
| 1947 | 509 | #356 | 0.29 |
| 1946 | 483 | #338 | 0.31 |
| 1945 | 365 | #367 | 0.28 |
| 1944 | 329 | #389 | 0.25 |
| 1943 | 384 | #367 | 0.28 |
| 1942 | 388 | #355 | 0.29 |
| 1941 | 341 | #361 | 0.28 |
| 1940 | 357 | #338 | 0.31 |
| 1939 | 358 | #334 | 0.33 |
| 1938 | 378 | #322 | 0.34 |
| 1937 | 280 | #390 | 0.26 |
| 1936 | 303 | #364 | 0.29 |
| 1935 | 302 | #362 | 0.29 |
| 1934 | 252 | #413 | 0.24 |
| 1933 | 260 | #400 | 0.26 |
| 1932 | 239 | #424 | 0.22 |
| 1931 | 188 | #470 | 0.18 |
| 1930 | 248 | #421 | 0.22 |
| 1929 | 207 | #461 | 0.19 |
| 1928 | 188 | #504 | 0.16 |
| 1927 | 148 | #582 | 0.12 |
| 1926 | 159 | #566 | 0.13 |
| 1925 | 109 | #708 | 0.09 |
| 1924 | 117 | #687 | 0.09 |
| 1923 | 110 | #699 | 0.09 |
| 1922 | 105 | #710 | 0.09 |
| 1921 | 101 | #733 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 93 | #754 | 0.08 |
| 1919 | 93 | #725 | 0.08 |
| 1918 | 81 | #793 | 0.07 |
| 1917 | 110 | #651 | 0.10 |
| 1916 | 84 | #740 | 0.08 |
| 1915 | 93 | #686 | 0.09 |
| 1914 | 76 | #668 | 0.10 |
| 1913 | 64 | #648 | 0.10 |
| 1912 | 50 | #715 | 0.09 |
| 1911 | 41 | #678 | 0.10 |
| 1910 | 24 | #881 | 0.06 |
| 1909 | 42 | #599 | 0.12 |
| 1908 | 21 | #861 | 0.06 |
| 1907 | 19 | #882 | 0.06 |
| 1906 | 15 | #979 | 0.05 |
| 1905 | 16 | #943 | 0.05 |
| 1904 | 17 | #893 | 0.06 |
| 1903 | 16 | #874 | 0.06 |
| 1902 | 13 | #992 | 0.05 |
| 1901 | 16 | #837 | 0.07 |
| 1900 | 11 | #1,194 | 0.04 |
| 1899 | 15 | #855 | 0.06 |
| 1897 | 5 | #1,645 | 0.02 |
| 1896 | 6 | #1,487 | 0.03 |
| 1895 | 5 | #1,696 | 0.02 |
| 1893 | 9 | #1,043 | 0.04 |
| 1892 | 5 | #1,544 | 0.02 |
| 1891 | 7 | #1,141 | 0.04 |
| 1890 | 8 | #1,041 | 0.04 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Gwen a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Gwen has been given almost only to girls: 294 boys in 134 years of records.
Girls and boys named Gwen: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Gwen, and how old are they?
24,100 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 73% of the 32,911 Americans ever recorded as Gwen. The median Gwen alive today is 61 years old; half are between 23 and 70.
The 2020 Census counted 31,346 people named Gwen (31,145 women and girls, 201 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 24,115 born in the U.S. The Census count is 30% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,790 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 10,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 4,590 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,190 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,190 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,320 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Gwen born?
The states with the most babies named Gwen are California, Pennsylvania and New York, with 24% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 2,812 | #578 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,944 | #885 | 1.0× |
| New York | 1,797 | #1,356 | 0.7× |
| Illinois | 1,684 | #875 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 1,636 | #1,133 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 1,437 | #684 | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 1,390 | #529 | 1.0× |
| Minnesota | 1,224 | #565 | 1.8× |
| Utah | 936 | #140 | 3.4× |
| Wisconsin | 917 | #543 | 1.2× |
Where Gwen is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Gwen is most over-represented in Utah: since 1910 it was given 3.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Gwen with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 34,413 babies since 1880, Gwen is the most given (96% of them). In 2025 it was given to 384 of their 384 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Gwen
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Gwen and names like it
- Compare Gwen and GwennBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sGwen peaked in 1959.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Gwen since 1910.
- Welsh namesWiktionary’s origin for Gwen: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1959The year the most babies were named Gwen.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Gwen alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with GMost given first.