Girls' name · peaked in 1953
Gwendolyn name popularity since 1925
115,276 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Gwendolyn. Half of them were born in 1957 or earlier, so the typical Gwendolyn is about 69 years old in 2026. Gwendolyn peaked in 1953 as the #112 name for girls, and it ranked #360 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 115,276
- Named Gwendolyn, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #360
- for girls in 2025 (848 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 114,948 girls · 328 boys
- Most popular in
- Louisiana
- 2.67× its national share
Peak year is the year Gwendolyn 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.
Gwendolyn births per year, 1925–2025
1953 was the biggest year for Gwendolyn both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Steepest fall: Between 1976 and 1981, Gwendolyn's share of baby girls fell by 47%, from 1 in 2,000 to 1 in 3,760.
- Fastest rise: Between 2011 and 2016, it became 1.6× more common, from 1 in 3,430 baby girls to 1 in 2,150.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Gwendolyn's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Gwendolyn.
Decade by decade
Babies named Gwendolyn 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 | 4,577 | 14 | – |
| 1930s | 10,108 | 71 | #180 |
| 1940s | 18,344 | 63 | #151 |
| 1950s | 31,945 | 104 | #122 |
| 1960s | 18,635 | 57 | #194 |
| 1970s | 7,914 | 19 | #297 |
| 1980s | 3,838 | 0 | #494 |
| 1990s | 2,983 | 0 | #856 |
| 2000s | 4,548 | 0 | #564 |
| 2010s | 7,174 | 0 | #406 |
| 2020–25 | 4,882 | 0 | #360 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
46.6% of babies named Gwendolyn from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Gwendolyn is most popular
The index compares Gwendolyn'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 Gwendolyn.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 2.67× | 5,406 |
| District of Columbia | 2.56× | 1,335 |
| Alabama | 2.48× | 4,964 |
| Mississippi | 2.32× | 3,173 |
| South Carolina | 2.15× | 3,397 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Gwendolyn 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gwendolyn (this page) | 114,948 | 1953 |
| Gwendolynn | 1,442 | 2023 |
| Gwendalyn | 1,207 | 2008 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Gwendolyn's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Gwendolyn.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Gwendolyn (1953).
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