Owen
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. 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 Eugenis > OW Ou[u]ein, Eug[u]ein ...
- Welsh
- English
- Irish
Meaning & Origin of Owen
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
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. 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 Eugenis > OW Ou[u]ein, Eug[u]ein ...
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Welsh
- English
- Irish
The Story of Owen
Owen first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1880, with 78 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2016: 10,302 births, good for #24 nationwide. About 36% of every Owen on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Owen ranks #27 for baby boys with 7,455 births, gradually falling (-14%). All told, over 253K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1880s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Owen
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Owen. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Owen
Phonetically similar names — useful when Owen is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Owen
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About the name Owen
Owen is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 253K births in the dataset. Owen's peak popularity came in 2016 when it ranked #18. Use the chart and map above to compare Owen's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2016 →
- Names of the 2010s →
- Names starting with "O" →
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- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.