Gwenda vs Gwendalyn
American parents have registered 2,264 Gwendas since 1880, against 1,207 Gwendalyns. But in 2025 it was Gwendalyn that was commoner, 17 babies to fewer than five.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Gwenda Gwendalyn
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 99 years in which either name was published, Gwenda for 56 years and Gwendalyn for 43 years. The lead changed hands 3 times.
Side by side
| Gwenda | Gwendalyn | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 2,264 | 1,207 |
| Most in one year | 109 | 48 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | 17 |
| Estimated living today | 1,700 | 1,200 |
| Median age today | 69 | 19 |
| Peak year | 1952 | 2008 |
| Best rank | 884th girls | 3,420th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | 6,546th |
| First recorded | 1921 | 1940 |
| Girls / boys | 2,264 / 0 | 1,207 / 0 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Gwendas alive today are over 69; half the Gwendalyns are over 19. That is 50 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Gwenda Arkansas (6.3×), Mississippi (5.2×), Oklahoma (4.4×)
- Gwendalyn California (4.5×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Gwenda and Gwendalyn.