| Gwen | Megan | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | White, fair, blessed | Pearl |
| Origin | Welsh | Welsh |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | GWEN | MEG-an |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1890 | 1922 |
| Peak year | 1959 (942) | 1990 (20,259) |
| In 2025 | 384 | 301 |
| Trend | Rising | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Gwen | Megan |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 2,113 | 2,429 |
| 2010s | 2,817 | 11,493 |
| 2000s | 1,453 | 66,833 |
| 1990s | 512 | 160,375 |
| 1980s | 1,071 | 153,500 |
| 1970s | 2,753 | 37,355 |
| 1960s | 5,961 | 5,916 |
| 1950s | 6,780 | 1,887 |
| 1940s | 4,050 | 191 |
| 1930s | 2,808 | 47 |
| 1920s | 1,337 | 39 |
| 1910s | 716 | 0 |
| 1900s | 186 | 0 |
| 1890s | 60 | 0 |
Gwen means “white,” “fair” or “blessed” in Welsh.
Megan is a Welsh pet form of Margaret, and so ultimately traces to the Greek margaritēs, “pearl.” Long a favourite in Wales, it spread widely across the English-speaking world.
Gwen is more popular than Megan today: about 384 US babies were given the name Gwen in 2025, compared with 301 named Megan.
Gwen means White, fair, blessed (Welsh origin), while Megan means Pearl (Welsh origin).
In US records, Gwen first appears in 1890 and Megan in 1922, so Gwen has the longer recorded history.