Gweneth
A Welsh feminine name meaning "fair and blessed".
Name Census estimates that about 902 living Americans carry the first name Gweneth. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gweneth today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gweneth births was 2008 (52 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gweneth. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Gweneth with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
902
~ 1 in 379,994 Americans
Peak year
2008
52 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,528
Tracked since 1913
Census
Gweneth in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,042 people with the first name Gweneth, which placed it at #12,077 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
#12,077
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,042 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gweneth
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gweneth is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.9%) and Hispanic (6.4%). 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 Gweneth 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 Gweneth at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.8% · 759
- Black or African American12.9% · 134
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 67
- Two or more races4.3% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 8
Popularity
Gweneth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gweneth from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 336 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gweneth 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 Gweneth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gweneths live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Ohio, Illinois recorded the most babies named Gweneth, while Iowa, Illinois, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gweneth
The name Gweneth has its origins in the Welsh language and culture. It is believed to have derived from the Welsh words "gwen" meaning fair or blessed, and "eth" meaning ray or emanation. Thus, the name Gweneth can be interpreted as "fair ray" or "blessed emanation."
This name traces its roots back to the medieval period in Wales, where it was commonly used among the Welsh nobility and gentry. It was particularly popular during the 12th and 13th centuries, as evidenced by its appearance in various historical records and chronicles from that time.
One of the earliest known references to the name Gweneth can be found in the Welsh manuscript "Brut y Tywysogion" (Chronicle of the Princes), which dates back to the late 13th century. This chronicle mentions a Gweneth ferch Gruffydd, who was the daughter of a prominent Welsh prince.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Gweneth. One such person was Gweneth Gam (1188-1236), a Welsh noblewoman who was known for her fierce resistance against the Norman invasion of Wales. She played a crucial role in the Welsh uprising led by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
Another prominent Gweneth was Gweneth Brycheiniog (1234-1286), a Welsh princess and heiress who was renowned for her patronage of the arts and literature. She commissioned several works of poetry and prose, contributing to the preservation of Welsh culture during a turbulent period.
In the 15th century, Gweneth Cyfeiliog (1425-1490) was a celebrated Welsh poet and musician. She composed numerous poems and songs that celebrated the beauty of her native land and the valor of its people. Her works were widely admired and helped to shape the literary traditions of Wales.
The name Gweneth also found its way into the annals of Welsh religious history. Gweneth Santes (1520-1588) was a Welsh mystic and visionary who was renowned for her piety and devotion. She is revered as a saint in some parts of Wales and is remembered for her teachings on spiritual enlightenment.
In more recent times, Gweneth Bryden (1871-1949) was a Welsh-born Australian educator and advocate for women's rights. She made significant contributions to the advancement of education and gender equality in Australia during the early 20th century.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals who have borne the name Gweneth throughout history, reflecting its enduring significance and cultural importance within the Welsh tradition.
People
Gweneth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gweneth 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
Gweneth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gweneth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 902 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gweneth 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 379,994 US residents.
Is Gweneth a common name?
We classify Gweneth as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,303 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gweneth most popular?
The single biggest year for Gweneth was 2008, when 52 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gweneth is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gweneth in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,042 people with the name Gweneth, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,077 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 Gweneth 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 Gweneth?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gweneth appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,034 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 Gweneth?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gweneth is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.9%) and Hispanic (6.4%). 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 Gweneth most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gweneth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.8% (759 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 Gweneth in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gweneth a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gweneth 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 Gweneth still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gweneth 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 Gweneth 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 are called Gweneth?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.