| Gwen | Carys | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | White, fair, blessed | Love |
| Origin | Welsh | welsh |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | GWEN | KA-ris |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1890 | 1991 |
| Peak year | 1959 (942) | 2006 (196) |
| In 2025 | 384 | 32 |
| Trend | Rising | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Gwen | Carys |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 2,113 | 189 |
| 2010s | 2,817 | 933 |
| 2000s | 1,453 | 1,123 |
| 1990s | 512 | 82 |
| 1980s | 1,071 | 0 |
| 1970s | 2,753 | 0 |
| 1960s | 5,961 | 0 |
| 1950s | 6,780 | 0 |
| 1940s | 4,050 | 0 |
| 1930s | 2,808 | 0 |
| 1920s | 1,337 | 0 |
| 1910s | 716 | 0 |
| 1900s | 186 | 0 |
| 1890s | 60 | 0 |
Gwen means “white,” “fair” or “blessed” in Welsh.
A modern Welsh name formed from the stem of the verb caru 'to love' (compare car 'beloved friend', cariad 'love'). A genuine Welsh 'love' root; the variant Cerys is read the same way.
Gwen is more popular than Carys today: about 384 US babies were given the name Gwen in 2025, compared with 32 named Carys.
Gwen means White, fair, blessed (Welsh origin), while Carys means Love (welsh origin).
In US records, Gwen first appears in 1890 and Carys in 1991, so Gwen has the longer recorded history.