Gwendlyon vs Gwendolynn
American parents have registered 1,454 Gwendolynns since 1880, against 78 Gwendlyons. Gwendolynn is still ahead, with 34 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Gwendlyon Gwendolynn
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 92 years in which either name was published, Gwendolynn for 91 years and Gwendlyon for 1 year. The lead changed hands 2 times.
- 1921–1939 Gwendolynn ahead
- 1941 Gwendlyon ahead
- 1942–2025 Gwendolynn ahead
Side by side
| Gwendlyon | Gwendolynn | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 78 | 1,454 |
| Most in one year | 9 | 41 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | 34 |
| Estimated living today | 60 | 1,300 |
| Median age today | 73 | 24 |
| Peak year | 1941 | 2023 |
| Best rank | 3,030th girls | 3,709th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | 4,172nd |
| First recorded | 1941 | 1921 |
| Girls / boys | 78 / 0 | 1,454 / 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 Gwendlyons alive today are over 73; half the Gwendolynns are over 24. That is 49 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Gwendlyon and Gwendolynn.