Gwendalyn vs Gwendolynn
American parents have registered 1,454 Gwendolynns since 1880, against 1,207 Gwendalyns. Gwendolynn is still ahead, with 34 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Gwendalyn 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 94 years in which either name was published, Gwendolynn for 66 years and Gwendalyn for 28 years. The lead changed hands 20 times.
- 1921–1993 Gwendolynn ahead, apart from 6 short spells
- 1996–2012 Gwendalyn ahead
- 2017–2023 Gwendolynn ahead
12 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Gwendalyn | Gwendolynn | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,207 | 1,454 |
| Most in one year | 48 | 41 |
| Babies in 2025 | 17 | 34 |
| Estimated living today | 1,200 | 1,300 |
| Median age today | 19 | 24 |
| Peak year | 2008 | 2023 |
| Best rank | 3,420th girls | 3,709th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 6,546th | 4,172nd |
| First recorded | 1940 | 1921 |
| Girls / boys | 1,207 / 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 Gwendolynns alive today are over 24; half the Gwendalyns are over 19. That is 5 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Gwendalyn California (4.5×)
- Gwendolynn California (5.1×)
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: Gwendalyn and Gwendolynn.