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Another fictional namesake is a minor character in Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis, a Telmarine human schoolgirl who is the only one in her school not to run away in fear of Aslan, and who subsequently joins his followers. Presumably Lewis liked the name, too. :-)
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Gwendolen "Gwen" John (1876 – 1939) was a Welsh artist who worked in France for most of her career. Her paintings, mainly portraits of anonymous female sitters, are rendered in a range of closely related tones. Although she was overshadowed during her lifetime by her brother Augustus John and her lover Auguste Rodin, her reputation has grown steadily since her death.
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Possible nicknames could be Gwen, Wendy, Len, Dolly...
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Gwendolihne.
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Gwen could be a nickname.
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Most websites list the meaning as "white brow". So it would be perfect for a blondie, or a pale skin, or even white eyebrows! Being fair of brow can also be an expression meaning "beautiful" as in fair of face and fairness/prettiness.
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If Gwen means white, fair or blessed, and dolen means ring, circle or bow, then the meanings can be any combination of these. I do however like the moon association, with white circle or white ring, as there is often a halo around the light of the full moon, which is also sometimes more of a gold colour. Speaking of gold, the term white ring firstly made me think of my wedding ring, a white-gold band, a symbol of unity and completion/ the circle of eternal love. As far as meanings go, this is not a bad one!
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The "white ring" meaning makes me think of toilets for some reason. Maybe that's just my perverted mind :/
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This is referred to the moon, not toilets in my opinion.
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I love this name so much. I have a thing for vintage, Victorian/Edwardian names. Plus, Oscar Wilde is one of my favorite authors. I like the -en ending better than the -yn ending, It flows better when you write it by hand in my opinion. When I hear the name Gwendolen I think of a pretty young British woman with long dark hair and pale skin. I think the names Gwendolen Rose, Gwendolen Iris, Gwendolen Victoria, Gwendolen Ava and Gwendolen Alexandra are all very pretty.
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Like the meaning, and it sounds good if you actually pronounce the last syllable to rhyme with hen, but that takes effort for speakers of American English, who want to just say the generic unstressed vowel sound. So it becomes another name ending in "lyn\". Blah
There are better Gwen names.
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There are better Gwen names.
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This is a beautiful name. (Also Gwendolyn, a variant of this name, is the name of the brilliant writer Gwendolyn Brooks. I first heard the name Gwendolyn when we were analyzing one of her poems.) If I have a daughter, I will name her Gwendolen in a heartbeat.
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As stated before, there was a character named Gwendolen in Oscar Wilde's play 'The Importance Of Being Earnest'. Her full name was Gwendolen Fairfax.
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I certainly have a soft spot for Welsh names, "Gwendolen" being on the list. While, no, I do not believe it to be the most pleasing to the ear, it still possesses an odd classic, old-world, cosmopolitan charm that I respect. I would never choose it for my child (of course, if I were married my spouse would have some say in it)... there is something about the "-dolen" that throws me off horribly (as I said: lacks desirability to the ear).
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I love this name and other "Gwen" names! And I think Gwen is a good nickname, but Wendy could be cute, too.
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I really like this name, whether it's spelled Gwendolen or Gwendolyn. It's beautiful and feminine and classic, and it makes me think of a beautiful character that you would find in a whimsical fairy tale. I hate the nickname Gwen, though. It makes my skin crawl!
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I used to hate it, but now I think it's absolutely beautiful.
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I think this name is very pretty! The nickname Gwen is nice too, but I just find the full name Gwendolen is so beautiful. But no one can really help nicknames from eventually appearing.
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In Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, Gwendolen is a queen who goes to war with her husband after he betrays her for another woman. She wins, buries her dead husband, kills the other woman and the woman's daughter, and proceeds to rule with wisdom and kindness. Some Arthurian legends also give Merlin a wife named Gwendolen. I love this name, though I prefer it spelled -lyn rather than -len. I'm a sucker for Gwen names.
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I really like this name, but after 'Gwen' the name starts to rush.
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Gwendolyn is my name and I go by Gwen most of the time! I'm rarely called Gwendolyn unless I meet someone new. I really love my name and I feel quite special inheriting the name from my grandmother.
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This name stops sounding good to me after the first syllable, but of course girls with this name are going to be called Gwen anyway.
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I really like this spelling of the name. Gwendolyn is pretty, too, but I prefer Gwendolen. Also, Gwen is a pretty diminuitive.
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Gwendolen Chant is a character in Diana Wynne Jones' book Charmed Life, and she's horrible. There's also another horrible Gwendolen in Enid Blyton's Malory Towers series (actually Gwendoline Mary). Consequently, I don't like the name much.
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Fun! Are you going to use Wendy as a nickname (I just think it's cute)
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The more I look at this spelling, the more I like it. I plan on naming my next daughter Gwendolen. It's such a beautiful and magical name.
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Gwendolen Harleth is a character in George Eliot's novel Daniel Deronda.
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I love this name and I prefer this spelling to Gwendolyn. I also like that "Gwen" could be used as a nickname.
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Gwendolen is such a beautiful, Welsh name. I also like Gwendolyn.
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The element "dolen" can mean "bow, circle" as well as "ring". This could have originally referred to the moon ("white circle"). A beautiful name.
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She was also a great character in Oscar Wilde's play, "The Importance of Being Ernest."
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