Gladys

Where Gladys comes from

Anglicized from Welsh Gwladus, of uncertain origin, perhaps connected with gwlad (“country”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Gladys
  • Welsh
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #367 among girls — 20 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1888
    Gladys Cooper born
    British actress
  3. 1901
    Peak, #11
    2,676 babies named Gladys — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1930
    Gladys West born
    American mathematician
  5. 1952
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #215.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Welsh.
Namesakes
  • Gladys West · American mathematician, 1930–2026
  • Gladys Cooper · British actress, 1888–1971
  • Gladys Knight · American singer, born 1944
  • Gladys George · American actress, 1904–1954

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.