Guinevere
Feminine · “fair”
Guinevere comes to English through Arthurian romance, where it has been written and rewritten for the better part of a thousand years — Welsh storytellers, a twelfth-century Latin chronicle, French verse, then Malory and Tennyson. It is three long syllables that open with a Welsh gw- and close on a held vowel. And it is, by descent, the same name as Jennifer.
How old is the name Guinevere?
Guinevere first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Guinevere is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 4,200 people named Guinevere are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Guinevere most popular?
Guinevere peaked in 2025, reaching #898 nationally. Today it ranks #898, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Guinevere appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Gwenhwyfar to Guinevere
The story of Guinevere
The name begins as Welsh Gwenhwyfar, which appears in early Welsh Arthurian material and has a close Irish cousin in Fionnabhair. Geoffrey of Monmouth latinized it as Guanhumara in his twelfth-century history of the British kings, and the French romance writers reshaped that into Guenièvre; the English Guinevere and Malory's Guenever descend from those. Meanwhile the Cornish form of the very same name traveled a quieter road and arrived as Jennifer, which is why two names that sound nothing alike are relatives. Italian and Spanish took their own turns with it, producing Ginevra and Ginebra.
Meaningscholars disagree
'fair, white' plus a debated second element
The first part of the Welsh Gwenhwyfar is gwen, 'white, fair, blessed' — that much is agreed. The second element is read either as 'smooth, soft' or as 'phantom, spirit', which is why you will see the name glossed both as 'the fair and smooth one' and as 'white phantom'. Both readings are seriously argued; neither has won.
How the name formed
- Gwenhwyfar
- Guanhumara
- Guenièvre
- Guenever
- Guinevere
Related forms: Gwenhwyfar · Guenièvre · Jennifer · Ginevra · Ginebra · Fionnabhair
Pronouncing Guinevere
GWIN-uh-veer
GWEN-uh-veer is also widely heard in the US and no one will think it wrong. The Welsh Gwenhwyfar is a different mouthful again, closer to gwen-HWIH-var.
Nicknames for Guinevere
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1912
- Most girls named
- 2025295 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #898reached in 2025
- Change vs 2023
- +17.5%295 in 2025, from 251
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Guinevere in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Gwenhwyfar in Welsh — same name
- Guenièvre in French — same name
- Jennifer in Cornish/English — related form
- Ginevra in Italian — same name
- Ginebra in Spanish — same name
- Fionnabhair in Irish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Ohio.
Guineveres among us
people named Guinevere are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 5,448 born in 2025 was named Guinevere
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Jalynn test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Guinevere's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jalynn climbed just as high around 2003, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jalynn's path sketches the road Guinevere is walking now.
Guinevere sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Guinevere is headed
Guinevere should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Guinevere beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Guinevere in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- An unbroken written record of roughly a thousand years, from Welsh tale to French romance to Malory and Tennyson.
- Several short forms already in real use — Gwen, Vera, Ginny — two of which work as full names on their own.
- Established forms in Welsh, French, Italian and Spanish, so it travels without becoming unrecognizable.
- Recognized on sight by most English speakers through the Arthurian stories, even where the spelling gives them pause.
- The spelling is often mangled: Guenevere, Gwenivere and Guinevive all turn up. Expect to spell it out, and to hear both GWIN- and GWEN- from teachers and strangers alike.
- In the legend she is remembered as much for the affair with Lancelot as for being queen. Most people never think about it; a few will mention it.
- It is long — three syllables plus a surname — and a child will likely be the only one with it in school. Whether that reads as an advantage depends on the child, and both cases are common.
- Its current run is recent, so almost everyone carrying it in the US is young. It will read as a small child's name for a while yet, until that cohort grows up.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Guinevere to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Guinevere
Feminine · #898 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Guineveres are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,200 people named Guinevere are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Guinevere in 2025?
- Guinevere ranks #898 among US girl names in 2025, with 295 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Guinevere?
- About 1 in every 5,448 US girls born in 2025 was named Guinevere — 295 in all.
- Will my child share the name Guinevere with classmates?
- Guinevere will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Guinevere
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ainara#898 · Liora#898 · Maizie#898 · Liv#895 · Chandler#895 · Naylani#895 · Luisa#902 · Linda#902
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Guinevere? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Guinevere and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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