Gwenith
A Welsh feminine name meaning "blessed" or "white, fair, blessed".
Name Census estimates that about 191 living Americans carry the first name Gwenith. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gwenith today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gwenith births was 1957 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gwenith. 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.
People living today
191
~ 1 in 1,794,525 Americans
Peak year
1957
12 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2020 SSA rank
#15,945
Tracked since 1915
Census
Gwenith in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 283 people with the first name Gwenith, which placed it at #30,644 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
#30,644
National first-name rank
People counted
283
283 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gwenith
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gwenith is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.4%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Gwenith 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 Gwenith at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.5% · 239
- Black or African American7.4% · 21
- Two or more races3.9% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Gwenith: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gwenith from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 79 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
Gwenith 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 Gwenith during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gwenith
The name Gwenith is a Welsh feminine name derived from the Welsh word "gwenith," which means "wheat." It is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages, around the 12th to 15th centuries, in the region of Wales. The name was likely inspired by the agricultural significance of wheat in the region and may have been given to girls born during the wheat harvest season.
In Welsh mythology, there are references to a character named Gwenith, who was a maiden associated with nature and fertility. This mythological connection may have contributed to the name's popularity among the Welsh people. Additionally, the name shares similarities with the Old English word "hwæte," which also means "wheat."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gwenith can be found in the Welsh Chronicles, a collection of historical manuscripts dating back to the 12th century. These chronicles mention a woman named Gwenith ferch Gruffudd, who lived in the 13th century and was the daughter of a Welsh prince.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Gwenith. One such person was Gwenith Vaughan (1540-1614), a Welsh noblewoman and the wife of Sir John Vaughan, who was a member of the Privy Council during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Another prominent figure was Gwenith Llewelyn (1680-1752), a Welsh poet and author who wrote extensively about Welsh culture and traditions. Her works were influential in preserving the Welsh language and heritage during a time when English dominance was increasing.
In the 18th century, Gwenith Jones (1720-1789) was a Welsh businesswoman and landowner who inherited significant property and wealth from her family. She played an important role in the local community and supported various charitable causes.
During the 19th century, Gwenith Roberts (1835-1912) was a Welsh educator and advocate for women's rights. She established several schools in Wales and campaigned for equal educational opportunities for girls.
Another notable figure was Gwenith Davies (1890-1972), a Welsh artist known for her landscape paintings and portraiture. Her works captured the beauty of the Welsh countryside and were widely exhibited during her lifetime.
While the name Gwenith has a rich historical significance in Wales, it has become less common in modern times, as many traditional Welsh names have given way to more popular English names. However, its connection to the agricultural heritage of Wales and its mythological roots continue to make it a unique and meaningful name.
People
Gwenith + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gwenith 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
Gwenith: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gwenith?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 191 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gwenith 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 1,794,525 US residents.
Is Gwenith a common name?
We classify Gwenith as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 337 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gwenith most popular?
The single biggest year for Gwenith was 1957, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gwenith is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gwenith in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 283 people with the name Gwenith, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,644 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 Gwenith 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 Gwenith?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gwenith leans strongly female. 279 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.4%). 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 Gwenith?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gwenith is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.4%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Gwenith most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gwenith in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.5% (239 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 Gwenith in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gwenith a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gwenith 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 Gwenith still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gwenith 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 Gwenith 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 named Gwenith?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.