Owen
2025 SSA
About Owen
Owen, a resonant Celtic name, has ranked among the Top 100 boys' names in the US for 20 years and is now trending ever-so-slightly downhill, good news for Owen-lovers who might rightly have feared the name would climb into the Top 10.
Why do so many parents love Owen? It's a classic with a genuine history, yet it's right in step with the modern trend for two-syllable, n-ending boys' names. Owen-like choices with less tradition behind them include Logan, Bowen, and Rowan.
Owen is derived from two names—the Welsh Owain and the Celtic Eoghan. Each are connected to Eugene, which ultimately came from the Greek word eugenes, comprised of the elements eu, meaning good, and genes, "born."
Owen became a Welsh patronymic surname during the Renaissance. The legendary St. Owen was a Benedictine monk who was a follower of St. Chad.
In Ireland, Owen may be spelled Eoin, as in Irish writer Eoin Colfer, and Eoghan. Other similar names include the Scottish Ewan or Euan and the French Ouen.
Owen's popularity now extends beyond English-speaking countries to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Pronounced O-un.
As of October 2026, Owen ranked #31 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #18 in 2022, Nameberry popularity #36.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #36 | 9,158 | 4,767.6 |
| 2015 | #36 | 9,607 | 5,012.1 |
| 2016 | #24 | 10,302 | 5,428.6 |
| 2017 | #28 | 9,363 | 5,058.5 |
| 2018 | #25 | 9,335 | 5,140 |
| 2019 | #21 | 9,346 | 5,209 |
| 2020 | #22 | 8,667 | 5,021.2 |
| 2021 | #22 | 8,768 | 5,011.8 |
| 2022 | #18 | 8,584 | 4,916.4 |
| 2023 | #20 | 8,011 | 4,683.2 |
| 2024 | #26 | 7,574 | 4,396.1 |
| 2025 | #31 | 7,190 | 4,209.4 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Owen.
- Elliot
- Miles
- Eli
- Emmett
- Elliott
- Harrison
- Jonah
- Levi
- Wyatt
- Caleb
- Bennett
- Noah
- Graham
- Jack
- Liam
- Max
- Maxwell
- Wesley
- Micah
- Isaac
Owen on lists
Famous Owens
- Owen Cunningham Wilson
American actor
- Owen Wister
American novelist
- Owen Bento
American child actor
- Owen Gerald Daniels
American football player
- Owen Marecic
American football player
- Owen Columba Coyle
Irish footballer and manager
- Owen Lee Hargreaves
English footballer
- Owen Andrew Farrell
English rugby union player
- Owen Willans Richardson
British physicist and Nobel prize winner
- Owen James Hart
Canadian wrestler
- Owen Chamberlain
winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics
- Owen King
American novelist; son of novelist Stephen King
- (John) Owen Danoff
American singer; son of Bill Danoff of the Starland Vocal Band
- Owen Jones
British political journalist and writer
- Owen Joseph Kline
son of actors Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates
- Owen Tyler Sussman
son of actress/TV host Ricki Lake
- Owen Neistat
son of YouTuber Casey Neistat
- Owen James Humphrys
son of radio presenters Valerie Sanderson and John Humphrys
- Owen Park
son of actors Steve Park and Kelly Coffield Pecora
- Owen Strausser Speer Wyle
son of American actor Noah Wyle
- Owen Berry (b. 2003)
son of drummer Bill Berry of R.E.M.
- Owen Timothy Howard
son of actress Darlene Vogel and Mark Howard
- Owen Leigh Odmark (b. 2009)
son of musician Matt Odmark of Jars of Clay
- Owen James Naughton (b. 2009)
son of actress Kelli O'Hara and Greg Naughton
- Owen Edward Pettit (b. 2009)
son of singer George Pettit of Alexisonfire
- Owen Haining (b. 2010)
son of model Michelle Marsh and footballer Will Haining
- Owen Lee Shook (b. 2015)
son of actress Shiri Appleby and Jon Shook
- Owen Barlett Hubbell (b. 2016)
son of actress Heather Morris and Taylor Hubbell
- Owen Thomas Burnett Rubulotta (b. 2018)
son of CNN anchor Erin Burnett and husband David Rubulotta
- Owen Cooper
British actor
Owen in pop culture
- Owen Lars
the uncle who raised Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars series
- Dr. Owen Harper
character on TV's "Torchwood"
- Owen French
character on TV's "Drop Dead Diva"
- Dr. Owen Hunt
character on TV's "Grey's Anatomy"
- Owen Milgrim
character on TV's "Maniac"
- Owen
character on animated series in the "Total Drama" series
- Owen Morello
character in the TV series "One Tree Hill"
- Owen Salinger
youngest child from TV series "Party of Five"
- Owen Newitt
character on TV series "Vicar of Dibley"
- Owen Elliot
character on TV series "Nikita"
- "U.N. Owen Was Her
" song from the Touhou games
- U.N. Owen
character in Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" and personalized version of "Unknown"
- Owen Thurman
character on TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
- "Owen
" children's book by Kevin Henkes
- Owen Grady
main character in film "Jurassic World"
- Owen
character in Aphmau's YouTube series "Dreams of Estorra"
- Owen Shaw
main villain in "Fast & Furious 6"
- Owen Hall
character on the TV series "Quantico"
- Owen Wilson
Hollywood actor turned internet meme
- Owen Rocksteed
the real name of Rocksteady, the Mutant black rhinoceros, in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Franchise, the name was revealed in the
- "The Lament for Owen Roe"
Traditional Irish ballad from the 19th century