Given name & surname
Owain
“born of Esos”
Owain has a related form in Owen. One Latin interpretation is “born of Esos.” Its derivation is not certain.
Original WelshOwen
Meaning & origin
What it means
Owain has a related form in Owen. One Latin interpretation is “born of Esos.” Its derivation is not certain.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1998. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Owain through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 151
- 151 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2008
- 16 babies
- 2025
- 7
- #10,411 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −79%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 7 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 10,411 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 16 in 2008.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Owain’s family of names
In English usage, Owain shares an earlier linguistic root with Owen. In Welsh usage, Owain has a conventional equivalent in the English form Eugene. In Welsh usage, Owain has a related form in Owen.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Owain
- Owain GlyndŵrWelsh rebel and pretender (died c. 1416)1359–1416
- Owain YeomanBritish actor (born 1978)
- Owen TudorWelsh noble (1400–1461)
- Owain Fôn WilliamsWelsh association football player (born 1987)
- Owain DoullBritish road cyclistborn 1993
- Owain GwyneddKing of Gwynedd1100–1170
- Owain LawgochPrince of Gwynedd and Wales1330–1378
- Owain OwainWelsh novelist, short story writer and poet (1929–1993)
- Owain mab UrienKing of Rheged501–595
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Owain, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Cowan
“from the hollow near the hill; one of twins”
>99% boys
Yestin
“one who is just” · “one who is just and fair”
>99% boys
Ieuan
“God is gracious”
>99% boys
Cian
“from an ancient family”
>99% boys
Kynan
“the chief; a leader”
>99% boys
Cadell
“having the spirit of battle”
>99% boys
Brann
“a ravenlike woman”
>99% boys
Carwyn
Carwyn is a masculine given name from Welsh. It is used in English and Welsh.
>99% boys