BabyNameScore

Guinevere

Welsh/Celtic, as the English form of the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar.

Guinevere is distinctive.

89/100

Strong Practical Fit

Balanced across pronunciation, everyday use, lifetime fit and international use.

Name Profile

  1. Pronunciation & Spelling

    Mostly read correctly

    85/100

  2. Everyday Use

    Low risk

    95/100

  3. Growing Up

    Strong lifetime fit

    Works comfortably across child and adult settings.

    82/100

  4. International Use

    Broad international fit

    Works cleanly across the assessed languages and writing systems.

    85/100

NAME DETAILS

OTHER-LANGUAGE FORM
Ginevra
ORIGIN & HISTORY

About the name

Guinevere is the English form of the Welsh Gwenhwyfar, whose established etymology is "the white fay/phantom" from Proto-Celtic roots for "white" and "phantom". An older proposal read the name instead as "Gwenhwy the Great", contrasted with a supposed sister "Gwenhwy the Little" (Gwenhwyfach); Welsh scholars have since dismissed this reading, treating the sister figure's name as a later back-formation rather than evidence for a competing etymology. The name is best known through Arthurian legend, where Guinevere is King Arthur's queen; it entered wide literary use via Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century and was elaborated across medieval French romance. The Proto-Celtic "white phantom/fay" etymology is the standing scholarly account. An older "Gwenhwy the Great" reading is documented in the historical literature but has been dismissed by Welsh scholars (the supposed sister name Gwenhwyfach is treated as a later back-formation, not independent evidence for that reading); it is retained here only as disclosed historical context, not as a live competing etymology.

  1. Gwenhwyfar (Welsh). The name first appears in literature in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136), nearly 700 years after the purported Arthurian period; it is attested even earlier in Latin as "Guennuuar" in the Vita Gildae.
  2. Mythological and religious contextGuinevere is King Arthur's queen in Arthurian legend; her character evolved from a minor figure in early Welsh texts to an elaborately developed figure in medieval French romance, particularly through Chrétien de Troyes and the Lancelot-Grail prose cycles.
POPULARITY

Guinevere over time

United States
#899RANK

Rank #899 gives national context, not a classroom forecast.

Uncommon in current U.S. usage. Ranked #899 in the U.S., 2025.

SourceU.S. Social Security Administration · 2025 release

Pronunciation & Forms

OTHER-LANGUAGE FORMS
  • Guennuuarearly Latin, Vita Gildae
  • Guenhuuara (Latinized, Geoffrey of Monmouth)
  • Guenievre / GenoivreFrench forms
  • Gaynour / GenureMiddle English forms
  • GinevraIT

Names around it

JenniferView  →

modern English cognate via Cornish

EDITORIAL SYNTHESIS

The Decision

Guinevere is spelled without unusual letter patterns, and it holds up in everyday use. Surname-dependent compatibility remains unassessed until a surname is added.

STRENGTH

Uses standard characters that systems widely handle cleanly. Fits cleanly on every form, badge, and signature line.

BEST FIT

Everyday Use is the strongest-scoring part of this name — no obvious nickname traps, rhymes, or initial issues detected.

FULL-NAME CHECK

See how it works with a surname.

Guinevere