Gwenevere
Feminine · “white phantom”
Gwenevere is a spelling of Guinevere, and Guinevere is Welsh — Gwenhwyfar, the fair phantom. It is one of the oldest names in British story and one of the hardest to write in English.
How old is the name Gwenevere?
Gwenevere first appears in US birth records in 1921 — 104 years ago. The typical Gwenevere alive today was born around 2012, making them about 13 years old. About 1,100 people named Gwenevere are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Gwenevere most popular?
Gwenevere peaked in 1962, reaching #2163 nationally. Today it ranks #3577, 1,414 places below that high. See the whole 1962 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Gwenhwyfar to Gwenevere
The story of Gwenevere
Gwenhwyfar belongs to Welsh tradition long before the French romances made her famous, and the Welsh triads name her three times over. Norman writers reshaped the name as Guenievre, English as Guinevere. The nineteenth-century Arthurian revival brought it back, and American records show it in a scatter of spellings — Gwenevere, Gwenivere, Guinevere — each trying to keep the sound while making the Welsh readable.
Meaning
white phantom, fair spirit
From Welsh gwen, white, fair or blessed, and hwyfar, a smooth or spectral being; the first element opens Gwendolen, Gwyneth and Bronwen and covers white, fair and holy at once.
How the name formed
- Gwenhwyfar
- Guenievre
- Guinevere
- Gwenevere
Related forms: Gwenhwyfar · Guenièvre · Jennifer · Ginevra
Pronouncing Gwenevere
GWEN-uh-veer
Three syllables, first stressed. Welsh Gwenhwyfar is closer to gwen-HWIH-var.
Nicknames for Gwenevere
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
- 1921
- Most girls named
- 201955 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2163reached in 1962
- Change vs 2024
- −2.3%42 in 2025, from 43
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.
Gwenevere in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Gwenhwyfar in Welsh — same name
- Guenièvre in French — same name
- Jennifer in Cornish — related form
- Ginevra in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Massachusetts.
Gweneveres among us
people named Gwenevere are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 38,268 born in 2025 was named Gwenevere
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 Leanor test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Gwenevere's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Leanor climbed just as high around 1913, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Leanor's path sketches the road Gwenevere is walking now.
Gwenevere 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 Gwenevere is headed
Gwenevere 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.
Gwenevere beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Gwenevere in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented meaning and a written record reaching back to early medieval Wales.
- Gwen is a ready short form that is plain, current and complete on its own.
- Jennifer is the same name in Cornish dress, which gives it a very familiar cousin.
- Guinevere is the standard spelling and this one will be corrected constantly.
- The queen of the story is remembered chiefly for a betrayal.
- Nine letters and three syllables is a lot for a small hand to write.
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What they receive
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Gwenevere
Feminine · #3577 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Gweneveres are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Gwenevere are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Gwenevere in 2025?
- Gwenevere ranks #3577 among US girl names in 2025, with 42 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Gwenevere?
- About 1 in every 38,268 US girls born in 2025 was named Gwenevere — 42 in all.
- Will my child share the name Gwenevere with classmates?
- Gwenevere will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Gwenevere
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Delphine#3577 · Evelyne#3577 · Ellanor#3577 · Lian#3577 · Katya#3577 · Kolby#3577 · Kolbi#3577 · Cherry#3577
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Gwenevere? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Gwenevere 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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