Olwen
About Olwen
Olwen is a Welsh favorite, the name of a legendary princess in what is believed to have been the earliest Arthurian romance, and in fact one of the first recorded examples of Welsh prose.
In this tale, Cuthwch and Olwen, the giant's beautiful and gentle daughter Olwen has the magical power to cause white clovers to spring up wherever she walked--an enchanting image. There's a darker side to the story too, in which Olwen's marriage curses her father to die.
Olwen is a Bronwen alternative for those with a taste for the more unusual. Those who like Olwen might also want to consider such other Welsh girls' names as Anwen, Rhonwen, and Nolwenn.
24's Xander Berkely and Sarah Clarke used the Olwyn spelling for their daughter.
Pronounced OHL-wen.
As of October 2026, Olwen ranked #17519 in US births in 2018 SSA, peaked at #2666 in 1917.
Editor: Pamela Redmond
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | — | 0 | 0 |
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Olwen.
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Olwen on lists
Famous Olwens
- Olwen Elizabeth Carey Evans
daughter of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
- Olwen Brookes
English actress
- Olwen Fouéré
Irish actress
- Olwen Margaret (Buck) Wymark
American playwright
- Olwen Hufton
English historian
- Petula Sally Olwen Clark
Welsh pop singer