# Gwen (given name)

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, member of Filipino girl group Bini
* 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