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Gawain

#12,654 in 2025Boys' name

Meaning uncertain in the cited reference

Gawain has been given to 90 babies in the U.S. since 1948. In 2025 it ranked #12,654 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1974, with 10 recorded.

Babies named Gawain, 2025

1 in 663,000

Gawain over time, 1880–2025

Boys
02.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Gawain: meaning, origin, and history

Meaning uncertain in the cited reference

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Gawain means

Gawain is a given name.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Gawain is used in Arthurian Cycle.

Another recorded pronunciation is /ɡə.ˈweɪn/ and /ˈɡɑː.wɪn/ for Gawain.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 90 boys were recorded with the name Gawain between 1948 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 10 in 1974; its best national rank was #3,404 in 1974.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Gawain?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 663,000
5 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 342,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#12,654
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
459,581 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Gawain sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 459,581 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Gawain. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Gawains were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Gawain was born before 1999 — so the typical Gawain is around 26 today.

Median birth year
1999
About 26 years old
Biggest decade
1970s
28.9% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
40.0%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
85
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1970s — 28.9% of all recorded uses (26).

Is Gawain rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
—
Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago
New entry
Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago
—
Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago
—
Not published both years
Share of its own peak
50.0%
Peak was 1974 (10)
Years since peak
51
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
37.5% average annual change
Best rank ever
#3,404
1974

Spellings of Gawain

Gawain is not the most common spelling — Gavin is, with 87.9% against Gawain's 0.04%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Gawain around the world

Where Gawain ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1997–2000
    #3,036
    in 2000

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics. ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0.

Gawain by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#12,654
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
New entry
Best rank ever
#3,404
1974
Peak year
1974
10 that year
First recorded
1948
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
90
Count in 2025
5

Names similar to Gawain

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

SylvainCobainMclainShazainOwainHusainMccainUrbainJamainTywainFabainKobainHasnainDarainDorainLorainSwainMaclainHunainTwainCaptainJordainTramainMcclain

Sibling names for Gawain

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Gawain

Top names of 1974, Gawain's peak yearThe 1970s in fullOther names that peaked in 1974Boys' names starting with GArthurian NamesMedieval Names