Gwen
Gwen is ranked 698th among girls in 2024 (403 births). Its best rank was 295th, in 1959.
- Rank in 2024
- #698up 119 from 2023
- Births in 2024
- 4030.02% of girls
- Peak year
- 1959942 births
- Best rank
- #295in 1959
- Since 1890
- 32,232people given the name
The story in the numbers
32,232 girls have been named Gwen in the United States since 1890, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1959, with 942 births.
This is a comeback. After an early peak the name fell to a fraction of its former share, and it has been climbing again for the past decade.
Half of everyone given the name was born by 1960, and the 1950s alone account for 21%. It has spent 94 of 145 years in the top 1,000.
Rank among girls, year by year
By decade
| Decade | girls named Gwen | |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | 60 | |
| 1900s | 186 | |
| 1910s | 716 | |
| 1920s | 1,337 | |
| 1930s | 2,808 | |
| 1940s | 4,050 | |
| 1950s | 6,779 | |
| 1960s | 5,962 | |
| 1970s | 2,753 | |
| 1980s | 1,071 | |
| 1990s | 512 | |
| 2000s | 1,453 | |
| 2010s | 2,816 | |
| 2020s | 1,729 |
In 1959, its biggest year
Gwen was the 295th most given girl’s name that year. The top five girls’ names of 1959 were Mary, Susan, Linda, Karen and Donna. See all of 1959.
Names that rose and fell with Gwen
Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.
- Gwendolynpeak 1953
- Rosalynpeak 1955
- Rositapeak 1966
- Twylapeak 1964
- Mariannpeak 1957
- Luannapeak 1960
- Joypeak 1957
- Betsypeak 1959
Other spellings in the data
What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.