Girls' name · peaked in 1959
Gwen name popularity since 1925
31,385 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Gwen (99.2% girls, 0.8% boys). Half of them were born in 1961 or earlier, so the typical Gwen is about 65 years old in 2026. Gwen peaked in 1959 as the #295 name for girls, and it ranked #725 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 31,385
- Named Gwen, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #725
- for girls in 2025 (384 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.2% girls
- 31,129 girls · 256 boys
- Most popular in
- Utah
- 3.65× its national share
Peak year is the year Gwen made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Gwen births per year, 1925–2025
1959 was the biggest year for Gwen both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1925 and 1930, Gwen became 2.5× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 1975 and 1980, its share of baby girls fell by 52%, from 1 in 4,510 to 1 in 9,490.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Gwen's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Gwen.
Decade by decade
Babies named Gwen in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 811 | 10 | – |
| 1930s | 2,808 | 68 | #362 |
| 1940s | 4,050 | 69 | #367 |
| 1950s | 6,780 | 69 | #316 |
| 1960s | 5,961 | 34 | #426 |
| 1970s | 2,753 | 6 | #535 |
| 1980s | 1,071 | 0 | #1,290 |
| 1990s | 512 | 0 | #3,114 |
| 2000s | 1,453 | 0 | #1,383 |
| 2010s | 2,817 | 0 | #749 |
| 2020–25 | 2,113 | 0 | #725 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
40.5% of babies named Gwen from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Gwen is most popular
The index compares Gwen's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Gwen.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | 3.65× | 834 |
| Minnesota | 2.49× | 1,218 |
| Wisconsin | 1.69× | 895 |
| Nebraska | 1.66× | 312 |
| Iowa | 1.64× | 559 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Gwen and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Gwen (this page) | 31,129 | 1959 |
| Gwenn | 1,475 | 1955 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Gwen's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Gwen.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Gwen (1959).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data