Gwyneth is a Welsh name, usually explained as "blessed" or "happy" from the word gwynaeth, and also linked to Gwynedd, the medieval kingdom in North Wales. The actress Gwyneth Paltrow made it familiar to American parents in the late 1990s. Gwyneth entered the US top 1000 in 2004, peaked at number 892 in 2013 and has since eased down to number 1771 among girls' names in 2025.