Gwendolyn

Variation of Gwendolen, Welsh

"white ring"

Gwendolyn Origin and Meaning

The name Gwendolyn is a girl's name of Welsh origin meaning "white ring".

One spelling variation that's more popular than the original, this somewhat old-fashioned name might be in honor of poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African-American to win a Pulitzer prize for poetry, or may be a way to get to the modern short form Gwen.

In the Oscar Wilde play, the character's name is spelled the traditional Welsh way, Gwendolen, as it was for one of the principal characters in George Eliot's Daniel Deronda, and Gwendolen was also Merlin's wife in Arthurian legend.

Gwendolyn Rank in US Top 1000

# 380 in the US

Gwendolyn Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 236 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Gwendolyn

• 380 US 2023
• 236 Nameberry 2025
• 330 Future 2028

20 Names Similar to Gwendolyn

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Gwendolyn.

• Colette
• Leona
• Delia
• Simone
• Francesca
• Cecily
• Coraline
• Eleanora
• Sylvia
• Claudia
• Lucille
• Rosalind
• Celia
• Gwyneth
• Leonora
• Marcella
• Estelle
• Mirabel
• Meredith
• Cecelia

Famous People Named Gwendolyn

• Gwendolyn "Gwen" Ifill American TV journalist
• Gwendolyn Bennett American poet and fiction writer
• Gwendolyn Bradley American operatic soprano
• Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks American poet
• Gwendolyn Margaret MacEwen Canadian poet and novelist
• Gwendolyn Elaine Armstrong American civil rights activist
• Gwendolyn Fiel Garcia Filipina politician
• Gwendolyn "Gwen" Guthrie American singer,songwriter
• Gwendolyn King American businesswoman and Social Security administrator
• Gwendolyn "Gwen" Watts English actress
• (Gwendolyn) Avril Coleridge Taylor, English pianist, conductor, and composer
• Gwendolyn Lee "Gwen" Byrd daughter of singer Tammy Wynette

The name Gwendolyn in Pop Culture

• Guendoloena (Gwendolen) Merlin's wife in some Arthurian legends (e.g. Vita Merlini)
• Gwendolyn "Gwen" Tennyson character in animated series Ben,10
• Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stacy character in the Spider,Man series
• Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper a main character on TV's "The Wonder Years"
• Gwendolyn Post character on TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
• Gwendolyn "Gwen" Thompson character in American Girl film "Chrissa Stands Strong"
• Gwendolyn Shepherd character in the German Gem Trilogy
• Gwendolyn Sommerset character in video game "Ravenhearst "
• Gwendolyn character in video game "Odin Sphere"
• Gwendolyn Princess of Treecrest, character in "The Wide,Awake Princess" by E. D. Baker
• Gwendolyn “Gwen” character in the Rooster Teeth animated series "Camp Camp"