Owen is usually an anglicised variant of the Welsh personal name Owain. Originally a patronymic, Owen became a fixed surname in Wales beginning with the reign of Henry VIII.[1] Etymologists consider it to originate from Eugene, meaning 'noble-born'.[2] According to T. J. Morgan and Prys Morgan in Welsh Surnames: "the name is a derivation of the Latin Eugenis > OW Ou[u]ein, Eug[u]ein ... variously written in MW as Ewein, Owein, Ywein. LL gives the names Euguen, Iguein, Yuein, Ouein. The corresponding form in Irish is Eoghan."[2] Morgan and Morgan note that there are less likely alternative explanations, and agree with Rachel Bromwich that Welsh Owein "is normally latinised as Eugenius", and that both the Welsh and Irish forms are Latin derivatives.[2]
The Welsh name is a cognate and near-homonym of the Irish name Eógan (pronounced /'oːəun/, partially anglicised as Eoghan, as noted by Morgan and Morgan, among other spellings).[3] As such, the given name Owney is usually regarded as a diminutive of either Owen or Eoghan. However, another Irish name, Uaithne (/ˈuənʲə/, meaning 'wood', 'work', 'pillar', or 'harmony') has also sometimes been anglicised as Owney.
Owen can also be an anglicised form of the French name Ouen, as in the case of Ouen of Rouen, metropolitan bishop of Rouen, known in Latin as Audoenus, from Germanic Audwin and Aldwin with French variant form Audoin. The anglicisation of the French digraph ou to ow is common in words such as couard > coward, and Old French poueir > power, tour > tower, etc. Welsh Owain has sometimes been Latinised as Audoenus in certain parish registers, through a folk etymology process, because both Owain and Ouen/Audwin have a typical anglicised form of Owen.[2]
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 edit
A–E edit
- Alfred Owen (footballer, born 1880), English footballer
- Amanda Owen (born 1974), "the Yorkshire Shepherdess" and writer
- Beverley Owen (1937–2019), American actress
- Bill Owen (actor) (1914–1999), English actor, father of Tom Owen
- Bill Owen (baseball), American college baseball coach
- Bradley Owen (born 1950), American politician
- Chris Owen (actor) (born 1980), American actor
- Chris Owen (director) (1944–2018), Australian film director
- Cliff Owen (1919–1993), British TV and film director
- Clive Owen (born 1964), English actor
- Dale Owen (1924–1997), Welsh architect
- Daniel Owen (1836–1895), Welsh novelist
- David Owen, multiple people
- Dicky Owen (1876–1932), Welsh international rugby union player
- Duane Owen (1961–2023), American convicted murderer
- Edmund Owen (1847–1915), English surgeon
- Eleanor Owen (1921–2022), American journalist and actress
- Elias Owen (Welsh cleric) (1833–1899), Welsh cleric and antiquary
- Elias Owen (footballer) (1863–1888), Welsh international footballer
- Elias K. Owen (1834–1877), United States Navy officer
- Evelyn Owen (1915–1949), Australian designer of the Owen submachine gun
F–M edit
- Francis Owen (philologist) (1886–1975), Canadian philologist and military officer
- Gareth Owen (footballer born 1971), Welsh footballer
- Gareth Owen (footballer born 1982), Welsh footballer
- Gilberto Owen (1904–1952), Mexican poet
- Gordon Owen (born 1959), English footballer
- Greg Owen (golfer) (born 1972), English golfer
- Greg Owen (activist) British HIV/AIDS activist
- Gwilym Ellis Lane Owen (1922–1982), Welsh philosopher
- Henry Owen (1716–1795), Welsh theologian
- Huw Parri Owen (1926–1996), Welsh theologian, writer and academic
- Ian Owen (born 1948), former Australian rules footballer
- Sir Isambard Owen (1850–1927), British physician and university academic
- Jake Owen (born 1981), American singer
- James Owen, multiple people
- Jane Owen (born 1963), British ambassador
- Jimmy Owen (1864–??), English footballer
- John Owen, multiple people
- 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
- Laurence Owen (1944–1961), American figure skater
- Laurence Owen (composer) (born 1989), British composer and entertainer
- Lewis Owen, multiple people
- Lloyd Owen (born 1966), English actor
- Lucy Owen (born 1971), Welsh newsreader
- Maria Tallant Owen (1825–1913), American botanist
- Mark Owen (born 1972), English musician and member of Take That
- Marv Owen (1906–1991), American baseball player, manager, and scout
- Mary Owen, multiple people
- May Owen (1892–1988), Texas physician
- Michael Owen, multiple people
N–Z edit
- Nick Owen (born 1947), English television presenter and newsreader
- Nora Owen (born 1945), Irish politician
- Orville Ward Owen (1854–1924), American physician and Baconian
- Peter Owen, makeup artist
- Priscilla Owen (born 1954), American judge on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals
- Rachel Owen (1968–2016), Welsh photographer, printmaker and lecturer
- Randy Owen (born 1949), American country musician
- Ray Owen (1941–2006), English rugby league footballer
- Reginald Owen (1887–1972), English actor
- Richard Owen, multiple people
- Robert Owen, multiple people
- Roger Owen, multiple people
- Russell Owen (1889–1952), American journalist
- Ruth Bryan Owen (1885–1954), member of Congress and U.S. ambassador
- Samuel Owen (1769?–1857), English maritime artist
- Sarah Owen, British Member of Parliament elected 2019
- Scott Owen (born 1975), double bass player for Australian rock band The Living End
- Sid Owen (born 1972), English actor
- Siobhan Owen (born 1993), Australian harpist
- Sue Owen, multiple people
- Susan Owen, American operatic soprano
- Syd Owen (1927–1999), English footballer
- Tanner Owen (born 1996), American football player
- Thomas Owen, multiple people
- Walter Owen, multiple people
- Wilfred Owen (1893–1918), British World War I poet
- William Fitzwilliam Owen (1774–1857), British naval officer, hydrographer, and explorer
- William Owen, multiple people
First name edit
A–J edit
- Owen I of Strathclyde, King of Strathclyde (in the western part of modern Scotland)
- Owen Arthur (born 1949} former Prime Minister of Barbados
- Owen Aspinall (1927–1997), 45th Governor of American Samoa
- Owen Astrachan (born 1956), Duke University computer scientist
- Owen Biddle, multiple people
- Owen M. Begley (1906–1981), New York politician
- Owen Bennett (born 1985), British former journalist
- Owen Bradley (1915–1998), American country music producer
- Owen Cheung (born 1987), Hong Kong actor
- Owen Clarke, English musician, member of band Hot Chip
- Owen Coyle (born 1966), Irish professional football player and current manager of Queen's Park in Scotland
- Owen Daniels (born 1982), American professional football player
- Owen Davis (1874–1956), American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
- Owen Farrell (born 1991), English rugby union player
- Owen Franks (born 1987), New Zealand rugby union player
- Owen Freeman (born 2004), American basketball player
- Owen Da Gama (born 1961), South African football manager
- Owen Garriott (1930–2019), American Skylab and Space Shuttle astronaut
- Owen Garvan (born 1988), Irish footballer
- Owen Hargreaves (born 1981), English footballer
- Owen Harris (1837–1905), Welsh politician
- Owen Harris (director), British film and television director
- Owen Hart (1965–1999), Canadian professional wrestler
- Owen Hatherley (born 1981), British writer and journalist
- Owen Husney (born 1947), American music manager and record executive
- Owen Johnson, multiple people
- Owen Jones, multiple people
H–Z edit
- Owen Hale (born 1948), American drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Owen Kelly (born 1977), Australian race car driver
- Owen King (born 1977), American author
- Owen Klassen (born 1991), Canadian basketball player
- Owen Lovejoy (1811–1864), American lawyer and politician
- Owen Mulligan (born 1981), three-time All-Ireland SFC winning Tyrone player
- Owen Nolan (born 1972), Northern Irish hockey player
- Owen Oyston (born 1934), English businessman and convicted rapist
- Owen Pallett (born 1979), Canadian songwriter and winner of the inaugural Polaris Music Prize
- Owen Pappoe (born 2000), American football player
- Owen Rinehart, American polo player
- Owen Roberts (disambiguation), multiple people
- Owen Roizman (1936–2023), American cinematographer
- Owen Ronald (born 1993), Scottish footballer
- Owen Rutter (1889–1944), English historian, novelist and travel writer
- Owen Schmitt (born 1985), American football player
- Owen Shannon (1879–1918), American baseball player
- Owen Ray Skelton (1886–1969), American automotive engineer
- Owen Tippett (born 1999), Canadian ice hockey winger
- Owen Tudor (c. 1400 – 1461), Welsh ancestor of the Tudor dynasty
- Owen Von Richter (born 1975), Canadian medley swimmer
- Owen Walter (born 1979), Canadian ice hockey defenceman
- Owen Warner (born 1999), English actor
- Owen Wilson (born 1968), American actor
- Owen Wright (disambiguation), multiple people
- Owen D. Young (1874–1962), American businessman, lawyer, and diplomat
Fictional characters edit
- Owen (Black Clover), a character in the manga series Black Clover
- Owen, a character from the animated reality series Total Drama
- Owen Grady, protagonist of Jurassic World
- Owen Green, a character in the podcast The Bright Sessions
- Owen Harper, protagonist in the television series Torchwood
- Owen Hunt in Grey's Anatomy
- Owen Lars, a Star Wars character, step-uncle of Luke Skywalker
- Owen Lawton, a character in Karen McManus's novel One of Us Is Next
- Owen Lift, son of Momma Lift in Throw Momma from the Train
- Owen Manning, a character in Chicago Med
- Owen Marshall, protagonist defense attorney in the television series Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law
- Owen Meany, title character in John Irving's novel A Prayer For Owen Meany
- Owen Mercer, the second Captain Boomerang in DC Comics
- Owen Milgrim, a main character in the miniseries Maniac
- Owen Milligan from the Degrassi series
- Owen Moore from the action-adventure video game, The Last of Us Part II
- Owen Paris from the Star Trek franchise
- Owen Quine, a character in J. K. Rowling's novel The Silkworm
- Owen Tillerman, a main character in the TV series Central Park
- Owen Underhill in King's novel Dreamcatcher
- Owen Wells in Gabrielle Zevin's novel Elsewhere
- Owen the Incline Engine, a character from the children's television series Thomas and Friends
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Patronymic Welsh Surnames".
- ^ a b c d Morgan, T. J.; Morgan, Prys (1985). "Owain (Owen, Bowen, Ednowain)". Welsh Surnames. University of Wales Press. pp. 172–173.
- ^ Ó Corráin, Donnchadh; Maguire, Fidelma (1990) [1981]. Irish Names. pp. 87–88.
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