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Owen (name)

Owen is usually an anglicised variant of the Welsh personal name . Originally a patronymic, Owen became a fixed surname in Wales beginning with the reign of Henry VIII. Etymologists consider it to originate from Eugene, meaning 'noble-born'. According to T. J. Morgan and Prys Morgan in Welsh Surnames: "the name is a derivation of the Latin > OW ,  ... variously written in MW as , , . LL gives the names , , , . The corresponding form in Irish is ." Morgan and Morgan note that there are less likely alternative explanations, and agree with Rachel Bromwich that Welsh "is normally latinised as ", and that both the Welsh and Irish forms are Latin derivatives.

The Welsh name is a cognate and near-homonym of the Irish name (, partially anglicised as , as noted by Morgan and Morgan, among other spellings). As such, the given name Owney is usually regarded as a diminutive of either Owen or Eoghan. However, another Irish name, (, meaning 'wood', 'work', 'pillar', or 'harmony') has also sometimes been anglicised as Owney.

Owen can also be an anglicised form of the French name , as in the case of Ouen of Rouen, metropolitan bishop of Rouen, known in Latin as , from Germanic and with French variant form . The anglicisation of the French digraph ou to ow is common in words such as > coward, and Old French > power, > tower, etc. Welsh has sometimes been Latinised as in certain parish registers, through a folk etymology process, because both and / have a typical anglicised form of Owen.

A relatively uncommon English surname, Owin, has also sometimes been spelt Owen.

The following notable people have Owen as a surname or first name.

Surname

  • Amanda Owen (born 1974), English writer
  • Beverley Owen (1937–2019), American actress
  • Brad Owen (born 1950), American politician
  • Cliff Owen (1919–1993), English filmmaker
  • Clive Owen (born 1964), English actor
  • Coleman Owen (born 2001), American football player
  • Dale Owen (1924–1997), Welsh architect
  • Daniel Owen (1836–1895), Welsh novelist
  • Daniel Owen (judge) (1732–1812), lieutenant governor of Rhode Island and Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
  • Dicky Owen (1876–1932), Welsh rugby union player
  • Duane Owen (1961–2023), American convicted murderer
  • Edmund Owen (1847–1915), English surgeon
  • Eleanor Owen (1921–2022), American actress, journalist, playwright, professor, and costume designer
  • Evelyn Owen (1915–1949), Australian military officer and inventor
  • Gilberto Owen (1904–1952), Mexican poet
  • Gordon Owen (born 1959), English soccer player
  • Gwilym Ellis Lane Owen (1922–1982), Welsh philosopher
  • Henry Owen (1716–1795), Welsh theologian
  • Ian Owen (born 1948), Australian rules football player
  • Sir Isambard Owen (1850–1927), British academic and physician
  • Jake Owen (born 1981), American musician, singer, and songwriter
  • Jane Owen (born 1963), English diplomat and politician
  • Jimmy Owen (1864–??), English soccer player
  • Joshua T. Owen (1821–1887), Welsh–American military officer
  • Kai Owen (born 1975), Welsh actor
  • Kenneth Owen (1918–2001), American farmer and politician
  • Larry Owen (1955–2018), American baseball player
  • Leah Owen (1953–2024), Welsh singer
  • Lloyd Owen (born 1966), English actor
  • Louise Owen (1895–1973), American actress in silent films
  • Lucy Owen (born 1971), Welsh newsreader
  • Maria Tallant Owen (1825–1913), American botanist
  • Mark Owen (born 1972), English musician
  • Marv Owen (1906–1991), American baseball player, manager, and scout
  • May Owen (1892–1988), American physician
  • Michael Owen (born 1979), English soccer player
  • Nick Owen (born 1947), English television presenter and newsreader
  • Nora Owen (born 1945), Irish politician
  • Orville Ward Owen (1854–1924), American physician
  • Priscilla Owen (born 1954), American judge
  • Rachel Owen (1968–2016), Welsh lecturer, photographer, and printmaker
  • Randy Owen (born 1949), American musician
  • Reginald Owen (1887–1972), English actor
  • Russell Owen (1889–1952), American journalist
  • Ruth Bryan Owen (1885–1954), American diplomat and politician
  • Sarah Owen (born 1983), English politician
  • Scott Owen (born 1975), Australian musician
  • Sid Owen (born 1972), English actor
  • Sidney Owen (cricketer) (born 1942), English cricketer
  • Siobhan Owen (born 1993), Australian harpist
  • Sri Owen (1935–2025), Indonesian cook and food writer
  • Susan Owen (born 1959), American operatic soprano and voice teacher
  • Syd Owen (1927–1999), English footballer
  • Tanner Owen (born 1996), American football player
  • Wilfred Owen (1893–1918), English poet and soldier
  • William Fitzwilliam Owen (1774–1857), English naval officer, explorer, and hydrographer

First name

Fictional characters

See also

References