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Arwen

AHR-wen
Literature, Sindarin, Welsh
"noble maiden; fair, blessed"
Sophie Kihm
By Sophie Kihm
Updated Tue Sep 30 2025

Arwen Origin and Meaning

The name Arwen is a girl's name of Welsh origin meaning "noble maiden; fair, blessed".

Best known as the princess of the Elves in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Arwen is a fantasy-inspired choice that feels perfectly down to earth. In 2022, it entered the UK Top 400, making it one of the fastest rising names, more than doubling in use from the previous year.

For many of his character names, Tolkien took inspiration for Welsh, and Arwen and its masculine counterpart Arwyn do have some history of use as legitimate Welsh names, possibly influenced by the ancient Welsh Arianwen. In this case, the name would mean "fair, blessed", while in Tolkien's world, it has a more regal air.

Similar in sound to Elowen, Gwen, Aria, and Ariana, Arwen has seen steadily increasing use in the US since the early 2000s. Currently given to around 180 babies each year, actress Caterina Scorsone and musician Rob Giles chose the name for their daughter in 2019.

Like with any pop culture inspired name, you would have to decide if you'd mind people asking or assuming you were big Lord of the Rings fans, but with its grounded and familiar sounds, Arwen may continue to rise in coming years.

A trivia tidbit to finish: The International Astronomical Union names all colles (small hills) on Saturn's moon Titan after characters in Tolkien's work; in 2012, they named a hilly area "Arwen Colles" after Arwen.

# 199 on Nameberry

Arwen Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Arwen

20 Names Similar to Arwen

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Arwen.

Famous People Named Arwen

  • Arwen Arabella "Bella" Hardy
    English folk singer
  • Arwen Estelle Williams
    daughter of reality TV personalities Rhonda and Brady Williams of "My Five Wives"
  • Arwen Lucinda "Lucky" Giles (b. 2019)
    daughter of actress Caterina Scorsone and musician Rob Giles
  • Arwen Humphreys
    actress

The name Arwen in Pop Culture

  • Arwen
    elf princess in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings series
  • Lana Arwen Lazar
    character from book series Gone.
  • Originally a Welsh name
    which came into use at the end of the 19th century , derived from the Welsh intensifying prefix ar, + gwyn "white." Its adoption may have been influenced by the old Welsh name Arianwen.