Gwen (given name)

Gwen

Gender	Female
Name day	6 July
Origin
Word/name	from Welsh Gwen, the feminine form of Gwyn ("white, bright, fair, pure, blessed, holy")
Meaning	"white, holy"
Region of origin	Wales
Other names
Related names	Gwenn (Breton); Gwenno, Gwenog (medieval diminutives); Gwyn (masculine equivalent)

Gwen is a Welsh feminine given name meaning "white, holy". It can also be a shortened form of Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere) or other names beginning with the same element, such as:

• Gwenhael, Gwenael, Gwenvael, Gwenaelle
• Gwenda (explained as a compound of gwen "white, pure, blessed, holy" + da "good, well")
• Gwendolen, Gwendoline, Gwendolyn
• Gweneira (from gwen "white" + eira "snow")
• Gwenfair (combination of gwen "blessed, holy" + -fair, soft mutation of Mair, "(the Virgin) Mary"
• Winefride (originally Gwenffrewi) (Breton: Gwenvred)
• Gwenfron (from gwen "white" + fron, mutated form of bron "breast"; cf. Bronwen)
• Gwenyth, Gwenith (identical to the Welsh word for "wheat")
• Gwenllian
• Gwennant (compound of gwen "white" + nant "stream, brook")
• Gwenola (modern feminized form of Breton Winwaloe)

Although superficially similar, Gwyneth has a different, albeit uncertain, etymological origin (likely either from Gwynedd or the Welsh gwynaeth, meaning joy, bliss or happiness).

People

• Gwen Apuli (born 2003), Filipino singer and rapper
• Gwen Benaway (born 1987), Canadian poet and activist
• Gwen Barlee (1963–2017), Canadian environmental activist
• Gwen Berry (born 1989), American hammer thrower
• Gwen Bristow (1903–1980), American author and journalist
• Gwen Carr (born 1949), American activist, public speaker, and author
• Gwen Davis (born 1936), American novelist
• Gwen Dickey (born 1953), American musician
• Gwen ferch Ellis (c. 1542 – 1594), the first recorded woman accused of witchcraft in Wales
• Gwen Farrar (1897–1944), English musician, actress and comedian
• Gwen Fleming (1916–2011), Australian doctor
• Gwen Frostic (1906–2001), American artist, entrepreneur, and author
• Gwen Gillen (1941–2017), American sculptor and artist
• Gwen Graham (born 1963), American lawyer and politician
• Gwen Guthrie (1950–1999), American singer
• Gwen Harwood (1920–1995), Australian poet
• Gwen Heeney (1952–2016), British sculptor
• Gwen Ifill (1955–2016), American journalist
• Gwen John (1876–1939), Welsh artist
• Gwen Jorgensen (born 1986), American world and Olympic champion triathlete
• Gwen Kelly (1922–2012), Australian novelist and short-story writer
• Gwen Knapp (1961–2023), American sports journalist
• Gwen Shamblin Lara (1955–2021), American founder of the Remnant Fellowship Cult and The Weigh Down Workshop
• Gwen Lee (1904–1961), American actress
• Gwen Margolis (1934–2020), American politician
• Gwen Marston (1936–2019), American quilter, teacher, lecturer, and author
• Gwen McCrae (born 1943), American singer
• Gwen Meredith (1907–2006), Australian writer, dramatist and playwright, and radio writer
• Gwen Moore (born 1951), American politician
• Gwen Nagel (1946–2009), New Zealand cricketer and international cricket umpire
• Gwen Ngwenya (born 1989), South African academic and politician
• Gwen O'Mahony (born 1972), Canadian politician
• Gwen Plumb (1912–2002), Australian performer
• Gwen van Poorten (born 1989), Dutch television presenter
• Gwen Ramokgopa, South African politician
• Gwen Raverat (1885–1957), English wood engraving artist
• Gwen Rix (1918−2000), New Zealand diver
• Gwen Richardson (1894–1944), Australian actress and travel writer
• Gwen Sebastian (born 1974), American country-rock singer
• Gwen Shamblin, American author
• Gwen Smith, Trinidadian cricketer of the 1990s
• Gwen Somerset (1894–1988), New Zealand educator
• Gwen Stefani (born 1969), American pop-rock, Ska and R&B singer
• Gwen Svekis (born 1996), American softball player
• Gwen Teirbron, Sixth century Breton saint
• Gwen Verdon (1925–2000), American dancer and actress
• Gwen Walz (born 1966), American civic leader and educator
• Gwen Watford (1927–1994), English actress

Fictional characters

• Saint Gwen Teirbron (sometimes called Blanche in French sources)
• Gwen Choke, James Adams' deceased mother in the CHERUB novel series
• Gwen Cooper, one of the main protagonists in the television series Torchwood
• Gwen Cummings, character in 28 Days
• Gwen Grayson, a character in the movie Sky High (2005)
• Gwen Kindle, a character from the stop-motion series The Most Popular Girls in School
• Gwen Mallard, a little duck from Migration
• Gwen Meighen, an air stewardess from the 1968 novel Airport and its 1970 film adaptation
• Gwen Norbeck Munson, from the TV soap opera As the World Turns
• Gwen Raiden, from the TV series Angel
• Gwen Rizczech, from the American soap opera Days of Our Lives
• Gwen Runck, from the TV series That '90s Show
• Gwen Stacy, character found in American comic books published by Marvel Comics
• Gwen Stacy, fictional character in Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man films
• Gwen Tennyson, from Cartoon Network's Ben 10 franchise
• Gwen West, a character from the TV sitcom Gavin & Stacey
• Gwen Hotchkiss Winthrop, from the American soap opera Passions
• Gwen Wu, a character from the Nickelodeon animated TV series The Mighty B!
• Gwen, a minor character from the American animated series Mission Hill
• Gwen, a character from the Canadian animated series Total Drama
• Gwen, a minor character from 6teen
• Gwen, a 2009 "Girl of the Year" doll from the American Girl collection
• Gwen, the recurring character from Johnny and the Sprites
• Gwen, a recurring character from Sam & Cat
• Gwen, a recurring character in the MMORPG Guild Wars, its expansion pack, and its sequel
• Gwen, the castle's kitchen maid from Sofia the First
• Gwen, a gunslinger hero in the video game Vainglory
• Gwendaline, a character from the movie Bad Moms
• Gwen (or Guinevere), from the British TV series Merlin
• Gwen, the Hallowed Seamstress, a playable champion character in the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends

Marvel Entertainment

• Gwen Poole, the protagonist of the Unbelievable Gwenpool comic book series
• Gwen Stacy (Earth-616), a love interest of Peter Parker (Spider-Man) in many of the Spider-Man comic book series
  • Gwen Stacy (Earth-65), the superhero Spider-Woman in the Spider-Gwen comic book series
    • Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld in the Spider-Verse films
  • Gwen Stacy (The Amazing Spider-Man), portrayed by Emma Stone in the Amazing Spider-Man films
• Gwen Warren / Spider-Girl, a superhero and member of the X-Men

See also

• Saint Wenna, also known as Gwen of Talgarth
• Saint Wenna (queen), also known as Gwen ferch Cynyr