Gwenda
A feminine name of Welsh origin meaning "fair one" or "fair and blessed".
Name Census estimates that about 1,449 living Americans carry the first name Gwenda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gwenda today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gwenda births was 1952 (109 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gwenda. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Gwenda is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Gwendas were born before 1968.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 236,545 Americans
Peak year
1952
109 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
2018 SSA rank
#14,436
Tracked since 1921
Census
Gwenda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,726 people with the first name Gwenda, which placed it at #8,406 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#8,406
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,726 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gwenda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gwenda is White at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Black (23.9%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gwenda described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gwenda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.6% · 1,218
- Black or African American23.9% · 412
- Two or more races2.4% · 41
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 9
Popularity
Gwenda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gwenda from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 895 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gwenda by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gwenda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gwendas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Texas, California, Alabama recorded the most babies named Gwenda, while Washington, Nebraska, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gwenda
The name Gwenda has its origins in the Welsh language and culture. It is a feminine given name that likely derives from the Welsh word "gwen," meaning fair, white, or blessed. The name may also be related to the Old English word "wine," meaning friend.
In Welsh mythology, there is a character named Gwenhwyfar, which is sometimes anglicized as Gwenefa or Gwenda. This figure appears in Arthurian legends and is associated with the famous Queen Guinevere. The name Gwenda can be seen as a variation or diminutive form of this legendary name.
The earliest recorded use of the name Gwenda dates back to the 12th century in Wales and the surrounding regions. It was a popular name among the Welsh nobility and aristocracy during the Middle Ages. One notable historical figure with this name was Gwenda Plantagenet (c. 1210-1237), an illegitimate daughter of King John of England.
In the 16th century, the name Gwenda appeared in the literary works of the Welsh poet and writer Siôn Phylip. His collection of poems, known as "Cwndidau Gwenda," featured a character named Gwenda, helping to popularize the name further.
Another famous Gwenda in history was Gwenda Morgan (1908-1991), a Welsh actress and singer who appeared in numerous stage productions and films throughout the 20th century. She was known for her roles in plays by Shakespeare and other renowned playwrights.
Gwenda Markle (1924-2002) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, best known for her works exploring the lives of women in rural settings. Her novel "Strength of the Stone" was widely acclaimed and received the Governor General's Literary Award in 1966.
Gwenda Blair (born 1948) is an American biographer and journalist, known for her biographies of prominent figures such as Donald Trump and the Cuomo family. Her work has been praised for its in-depth research and insights into the lives of influential personalities.
Gwenda Blondell (1942-2018) was an Australian artist and sculptor, renowned for her abstract and minimalist works. She had numerous solo exhibitions and her pieces are held in major galleries and collections across Australia and internationally.
People
Gwenda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gwenda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gwenda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gwenda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,449 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gwenda going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 236,545 US residents.
Is Gwenda a common name?
We classify Gwenda as "Rare". It ranks above 92.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,264 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gwenda most popular?
The single biggest year for Gwenda was 1952, when 109 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gwenda is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gwenda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,726 people with the name Gwenda, or 0.57 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,406 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gwenda in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gwenda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gwenda appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,722 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gwenda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gwenda is White at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Black (23.9%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gwenda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gwenda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.6% (1,218 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gwenda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gwenda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gwenda in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Gwenda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gwenda in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gwenda can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Gwenda?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.