Guinevere
Guinevere was the 899th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 295 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 451 places. More babies were named Guinevere in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning white, fair + uncertain element (Welsh) · Welsh
Say it GWIN-uh-veer /ˈɡwɪnəvɪɹ/
- Rank in 2025
- #899 girls, up 112 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 295girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2022299 babies
- Total since 1880
- 4,592babies recorded
What does the name Guinevere mean?
Guinevere is the English form of Welsh Gwenhwyfar, the wife of King Arthur in Arthurian legend; Wiktionary traces it through Old Welsh Guinhuimar to a Brittonic name. The first element is gwen 'white, fair, blessed'. The second is uncertain, often linked to a word for a phantom or spirit. The Cornish form Jennifer, a doublet, became much more common as a given name than Guinevere itself.
gwen (Welsh, “white, fair, blessed”)Gwenhwyfar (Welsh, “Guinevere”)
How sure is this? Probable. Only the first element is secure.
Other explanations you may read: 'white wave' or 'white phantom' given as settled meanings.
Related names: Jennifer, Gwen, Gwendolyn, Ginevra.
See also: Welsh names, names that mean a color.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Guinevere', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Gwenhwyfar' (Welsh section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Nicknames for Guinevere
The usual nicknames for Guinevere are Gwen. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Guinevere in the last five years, 128 were named Gwen, against 225 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gwen · also for Gwendolyn | Traditional | #725 | 1,782 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Guineveres go by each one.
Guinevere popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #899 | 295 |
| 2020 | #1,011 | 249 |
| 2010 | #2,948 | 58 |
| 2000 | #3,135 | 44 |
| 1990 | #4,929 | 19 |
| 1980 | #3,892 | 20 |
| 1970 | #3,476 | 18 |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | #5,595 | 5 |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | #3,472 | 8 |
| 1920 | #2,312 | 16 |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Guinevere, counting every spelling?
Guinevere is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #877 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #899 for Guinevere on its own. Together these spellings went to 295 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guinevere | 295 | #899 | 1,392 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Guinevere?
295 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Guinevere (0.08 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Guinevere born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 28 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Guinevere.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Guinevere?
About 4,200 people born in the US named Guinevere are alive today, with a median age of 9; half are between 4 and 19. That makes Guinevere a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Guinevere by state
How common Guinevere was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Missouri (2.6×), Indiana (2.0×), Wisconsin (1.9×), Ohio (1.9×), Virginia (1.7×). In 19 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Guinevere: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Guinevere, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Guinevere · Sibling names for Guinevere
Questions about the name Guinevere
What does Guinevere mean?
Guinevere means “white, fair + uncertain element (Welsh)” (Welsh origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Guinevere?
Guinevere was the 899th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 295 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 451 places. More babies were named Guinevere in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Guinevere a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Guinevere in the US.
Where is Guinevere most popular?
In 2021–2025, Guinevere was most common in Missouri (0.44 per 1,000 girls), followed by Montana and Indiana.