Gwen is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

meaning "white, holy". It can be a shortened form of ''

Gwenhwyfar Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...

'' (

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...

) or other names beginning with the same element, such as: *

Gwenhael Saint Gwenhael (french: Guénaël; br, Gwenael; Old Breton: ''Gwenhael'') was a Breton saint of the 6th century, born at Ergué-Gabéric (Finistère), the second abbot of Landévennec Abbey, successor in 532 to the founder, Saint Winwaloe (Gwe ...

, Gwenael, Gwenvael, Gwenaelle * Gwenda (explained as a compound of '' gwen'' "white, pure, blessed, holy" + '' da'' "good, well") *

Gwendolen Gwendolen () is a feminine given name, in general use only since the 19th century. It has come to be the standard English form of Latin '' Guendoloena'', which was first used by Geoffrey of Monmouth as the name of a legendary British queen in hi ...

Gwendoline Gwendoline is a feminine given name, a variant of Gwendolen. Notable people called Gwendoline *Gwendoline Maud Syrie Barnardo (1879–1955), a British interior decorator * Gwendoline Butler (born 1922), an English writer of mystery fiction * Gwen ...

, Gwendolyn *Gweneira (from ''gwen'' "white" + ''

eira Eira is a neighborhood in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. History The district dates back to the early 20th century and received its name after Eira Hospital in the neighboring district of Ullanlinna, which in turn took its name from Eira ...

'' "snow") *Gwenfair (combination of ''gwen'' "blessed, holy" + -''fair'',

soft mutation In linguistics, lenition is a sound change that alters consonants, making them more sonority hierarchy, sonorous. The word ''lenition'' itself means "softening" or "weakening" (from Latin 'weak'). Lenition can happen both synchronic analysis, s ...

of ''Mair'' "(the

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

)

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

") *

Winefride Saint Winifred (or Winefride; cy, Gwenffrewi; la, Wenefreda, Winifreda) was a Welsh virgin martyr of the 7th century. Her story was celebrated as early as the 8th century, but became popular in England in the 12th, when her hagiography was fi ...

(originally Gwenffrewi) ( br, Gwenvred) *Gwenfron (from ''gwen'' "white" + '' fron'', mutated form of ''

bron Bron () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, eastern France. Geography Bron lies east-southeast of central Lyon. It is the sixth-largest suburb of the city of Lyon, and is adjacent to its east side. Climat ...

'' "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 Saint Winwaloe ( br, Gwenole; french: Guénolé; la, Winwallus or ; – 3 March 532) was the founder and first abbot of Landévennec Abbey (literally " Lann of Venec"), also known as the Monastery of Winwaloe. It was just south of Brest in Bri ...

'') Although superficially similar,

Gwyneth Gwyneth (sometimes Gweneth) is a Welsh feminine given name which derives from the kingdom of Gwynedd. Notable people: * Gwyneth Boodoo, an American psychologist and expert on educational measurement * Gwyneth Cravens, an American novelist and jou ...

has a different, albeit uncertain, etymological origin (likely either from

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

or the Welsh 'gwynaeth', meaning joy, bliss or happiness.

People

Gwen Berry Gwendolyn Denise Berry (born June 29, 1989) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the hammer throw. Her mark of on June 8, 2018, ranks her #7 on the all time list. She also holds the world record in the weight throw with a ...

(born 1989), American hammer thrower *

Gwen Bristow Gwen Bristow (September 16, 1903 – August 17, 1980) was an American writer and journalist. Early life Bristow was born in Marion, South Carolina in 1903 to Baptist minister Louis Judson Bristow and Caroline Cornelia Winkler. Bristow became in ...

(1903–1980), American author and journalist *

Gwen Davis Gwen Davis (born May 11, 1936) is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, songwriter, journalist and poet. Davis has written eighteen novels, including the bestseller ''The Pretenders''. She has also written about travel for the ''Wall S ...

(born 1936), American novelist *

Gwen ferch Ellis Gwen ferch Ellis (lit. trans. "Gwen the daughter of Ellis"; c.1542 – 1594) was born in Llandyrnog in the Vale of Clwyd. The record of her trial is the earliest record of trial and execution on charges of witchcraft in Wales. She was first ...

(c. 1542 – 1594), the first recorded woman accused of witchcraft in Wales *

Gwen Guthrie Gwendolyn Guthrie (July 9, 1950 – February 3, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter and pianist who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Peter Tosh, and Madonna, among others, and who wrote songs made fa ...

(1950–1999), American singer *

Gwen Harwood Gwen Harwood (née Gwendoline Nessie Foster, 8 June 19205 December 1995) was an Australian poet and librettist. Harwood is regarded as one of Australia's finest poets, publishing over 420 works, including 386 poems and 13 librettos. She won nu ...

(1920–1995), Australian poet *

Gwen Ifill Gwendolyn L. Ifill ( ; September 29, 1955 – November 14, 2016) was an American journalist, television newscaster, and author. In 1999, she became the first African-American woman to host a nationally televised U.S. public affairs program ...

(1955–2016), American journalist *

Gwen John Gwendolen Mary John (22 June 1876 – 18 September 1939) was a Welsh artist who worked in France for most of her career. Her paintings, mainly portraits of anonymous female sitters, are rendered in a range of closely related tones. Although s ...

(1876–1939), Welsh artist *

Gwen Jorgensen Gwen Rosemary Jorgensen (born April 25, 1986, in Waukesha, Wisconsin) is an American distance runner and former professional triathlete. She is the 2014 and 2015 ITU World Triathlon Series Champion. She has been named USA Triathlon's 2013 and 2 ...

(born 1986), American world and Olympic champion triathlete * Gwen Kelly (1922–2012), Australian novelist and short-story writer *

Gwen McCrae Gwen McCrae ( Mosley, December 21, 1943) is an American singer, best known for her 1975 hit record, hit "Rockin' Chair (Gwen McCrae song), Rockin' Chair". Life and career 1960s–1970s Gwen was the youngest of five children, She began performi ...

(born 1943), American singer *

Gwen Moore Gwendolynne Sophia Moore (born April 18, 1951) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2005. In 2016, Moore was elected to serve as caucus whip of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 115th United States Congres ...

(born 1951), American politician *

Gwen Plumb Gwendoline Jean Plumb AM BEM (2 August 1912 – 5 June 2002), was an Australian performer of international appeal, actress and comedian active in literally every form of the art genre, (except circus) including revue, pantomime, vaudeville, in ...

(1912–2002), Australian performer *

Gwen Raverat Gwendolen Mary "Gwen" Raverat (née Darwin; 26 August 1885 – 11 February 1957), was an English wood engraver who was a founder member of the Society of Wood Engravers. Her memoir ''Period Piece'' was published in 1952. Biography Gwendolen Ma ...

(1885–1957), English wood engraving artist *

Gwen Sebastian Gwen Noel Sebastian is an American country music singer-songwriter. Sebastian was signed to Lofton Creek Records in 2009 and released two singles for the label. In 2012, she was a contestant on the second season of ''The Voice'' but lost in the ...

(born 1974) American Country-rock singer * Gwen Shamblin, American author * Gwen Smith, West Indian cricketer *

Gwen Somerset Gwendolen Lucy Somerset (née Alley, 16 November 1894 – 31 October 1988) was a New Zealand teacher, adult education director, educationalist and writer. Early life Somerset was born in Springfield, New Zealand in 1895. She was the second ...

, (1894–1988), New Zealand educator *

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

(born 1969), American pop-rock, Ska and R&B singer *

Gwen Verdon Gwyneth Evelyn "Gwen" Verdon (January 13, 1925October 18, 2000) was an American actress and dancer. She won four Tony Awards for her musical comedy performances, and served as an uncredited choreographer's assistant and specialty dance coach for t ...

(1925–2000), American dancer and actress

Fictional characters

* Saint Gwen Teirbron (sometimes called " Blanche" in French sources) * Gwen Choke, James Adams' deceased mother in the

CHERUB A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...

novel series *

Gwen Cooper Gwen Cooper is a fictional character portrayed by Welsh actress Eve Myles in the BBC science-fiction television programme ''Torchwood'', a spin-off of the long-running series ''Doctor Who''. The lead female character, Gwen featured in every epi ...

, one of the main protagonists in the television series ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing ...

'' * 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 ''The Most Popular Girls in School'' (abbreviated ''MPGIS'') is an American adult stop-motion animation, animated comedy web series that debuted on YouTube on May 1, 2012. Created by Mark Cope and Carlo Moss, the series animates Barbie, Ken (dol ...

'' * Gwen Meighen, an air stewardess from the 1968 novel ''

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

'' and its 1970 film adaptation * Gwen Norbeck Munson, from the TV soap opera ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

'' *

Gwen Poole Gwenpool (Gwendolyn "Gwen" Poole; colloquial: "GwenPool" or "Pink Slayer") is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A girl from the Reality, real world transported to the Marvel Univ ...

, the protagonist of the ''

Unbelievable Gwenpool ''The Unbelievable Gwenpool'', more commonly called ''Unbelievable Gwenpool'', is a manga-influenced superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring Gwenpool as its main protagonist. The series was a spin-off from the characte ...

'' comic book series *

Gwen Raiden This article features minor fictional characters who appear as guest stars on the television program ''Angel'', ordered alphabetically. For the show's main characters, please see the article list of ''Angel'' characters. A Alonna Gunn Alonna ...

, from the TV series ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

'' *

Gwen Stacy Gwendolyne Maxine Stacy is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in those featuring Spider-Man. A college student and the daughter of George Stacy and Helen Stacy, ...

, a

love interest ''Gli Innamorati'' (, meaning "The Lovers") were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the Lovers in some regard. These dramatic and pos ...

of Peter Parker (

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

) in many of the ''Spider-Man'' comic book series *

Gwen Tennyson Gwendolyn "Gwen" Tennyson, occasionally known as Lucky Girl, is a fictional character (arts), character that appears in the Ben 10, ''Ben 10'' franchise. The paternal Cousin, first cousin and Best friends forever, best friend of Title character, t ...

, from

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

's ''

Ben 10 ''Ben 10'' is an American media franchise created by Man of Action Studios, produced by Cartoon Network Studios and owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The series centers on a boy named Ben Tennyson who acquires the Omnitrix, an alien device rese ...

'' franchise * Gwen West, a character from the TV sitcom ''

Gavin & Stacey ''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom written by James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one in Billericay, Essex; one in Barry, South Wales. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the titular characters Gavin and Stacey and the writers st ...

'' * Gwen Hotchkiss Winthrop, from the American soap opera ''

Passions ''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and pro ...

'' * Gwen Wu, a character from the Nickelodeon animated TV series ''

The Mighty B! ''The Mighty B!'' (stylized in all caps) is an American animated television series created by Amy Poehler, Cynthia True, and Erik Wiese for Nickelodeon. The series centers on Bessie Higgenbottom, an ambitious Honeybee girl scout who believes sh ...

'' * Gwen, a minor character from the American animated series '' Mission Hill'' * Gwen, a character from the Canadian animated series ''

Total Drama ''Total Drama'' (often shortened as ''TD'') is a Canadian animated television series created by Jennifer Pertsch and Tom McGillis that premiered on Teletoon in Canada on July 8, 2007, and on Cartoon Network in the U.S. on June 5, 2008. The ser ...

'' * Gwen, a minor character from ''

6teen ''6teen'' (originally titled ''The Mall'') is a Canadian animated comedy television series originally produced by Nelvana, with the final two seasons being produced by Fresh TV. It began airing on November 7, 2004 until its final episode aired o ...

'' * Gwen, a 2009 "Girl of the Year" doll from the ''

American Girl American Girl is an American line of dolls released on May 5, 1986, by Pleasant Company. The dolls portray eight- to fourteen-year-old boys and girls of a variety of ethnicities, faiths, and social classes from different time periods throughou ...

'' collection * Gwen, the recurring character from ''

Johnny and the Sprites ''Johnny and the Sprites'' is an American children's musical television show that aired every weekend on the "Playhouse Disney" block on Disney Channel. The show was created by, produced by, and starred John Tartaglia (most famous for his work o ...

'' * Gwen, a recurring character from ''

Sam & Cat ''Sam & Cat'' is an American teen sitcom that originally aired from June 8, 2013, to July 17, 2014, on Nickelodeon. It is a spin-off of two TV shows '' iCarly'' and ''Victorious'', which Dan Schneider also created. It stars Jennette McCurdy as ...

'' * Gwen, a recurring character in the MMORPG ''

Guild Wars ''Guild Wars'' is an online role-playing game franchise developed by ArenaNet and published by NCSOFT. The games were critically well received and won many editor's choice awards, as well as awards such as Best Value, Best Massively Multiplaye ...

'', its ''

expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game or collectible card game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, or an ...

'', and its

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

* Gwen, the castle's kitchen maid from ''

Sofia the First ''Sofia the First'' is an American animated fantasy children's television series. The show follows a young peasant girl named Sofia ( Ariel Winter), who becomes a princess after her mother marries the king of Enchancia. Episodes focus on her ad ...

'' * Gwen, a gunslinger hero in the video game '' Vainglory'' * Gwendaline, a character from the movie ''

Bad Moms ''Bad Moms'' is a 2016 American comedy film directed and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Jay Hernandez, Annie Mumolo, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Christina ...

'' * Gwen (or

), from the British TV series ''

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

'' * Gwen, the Hallowed Seamstress, a playable champion character in the multiplayer online battle arena video game

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...

References

{{given name, Gwen, cat=Welsh feminine given names English feminine given names English given names Hypocorisms Breton feminine given names

People

Fictional characters

See also

References