How to say it
GWEN · do · lyn
/ˈɡwɛn.də.lɪn/
Feminine
Gwendolyn
White ring, blessed
What it means
Welsh, from gwen ('white, fair, blessed') plus dolen ('ring, bow').
Gwendolyn is a Welsh name built on gwen, 'white, fair, blessed,' joined to a root meaning 'ring' or 'bow.' A legendary queen Gwendolen appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century history of Britain. Poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the first Black writer to win a Pulitzer, gave it 20th-century weight. It reads stately and vintage, and it hands you the lovely shorts Gwen and Wynn. Wendy partly grew out of it too.
Popularity over time
peaked at #112 in 1951, currently #360 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Nickname
Gwen and Wynn are the shorts; Wendy partly derives from it.
- Spelling
Gwendolyn, Gwendolen, and Gwendoline are all in use.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Gwendolyn Brooks poet, first Black writer to win the Pulitzer Prize
Spelling variants
- Gwendolen
- Gwendoline
- Gwenllian
Names with the same feeling
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