Comments on: Name of the Day: Olwen

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:09:11 +0000

Anneliese Olwen was on my (long) short list for a while – after my Great Aunts Olwen, Elizabeth and Great Grandmother Anna. I love her in the middle!

By: Charlotte Vera

Charlotte Vera — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:11:39 +0000

I lovelovelovelove wen/wyn names, so thanks for featuring this one! I could potentially see myself suggesting it as a middle name should we have, say, two or three more girls.

By: photoquilty

photoquilty — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 13:45:30 +0000

I’m with Sebastiane on this.

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:33:01 +0000

Ooh, I love Wenna as a nn for Morwenna!

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:30:23 +0000

Me, too, Sarah! As it happens, I have a Great Aunt Olwen. Or I did – she died before I was born. I always wondered about her name. My grandmother, her MUCH younger sister, used to say that Olwen was the Welsh form of David. Clearly no. And yet, none of the other kids had Welsh names, or even usual names – George, Elizabeth, Irene. So I wish I knew more … but alas, the story is lost.

By: Joy

Joy — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:20:24 +0000

Seems too much like Ol’ Win.

By: Bewildertrix

Bewildertrix — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:17:59 +0000

Not a fan. I suppose it’s perfectly decent and I do like many Welsh names but it has a distinctly “grumpy and frumpy old farmer’s wife” vibe for me thanks to one woman. Olwen isn’t common here but you will encounter it. However, Bronwyn and the modernized Raewyn are definitely more popular/mainstream. All three seem to be found on older females although I know of two younger 20-something Bronwyns also.

By: SarahinJune

SarahinJune — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:15:20 +0000

Oh, I’m so glad that you did Olwen!!! I’ve always loved it. I think according to legend she was so beautiful that four white flowers sprang up in her every footprint. It does sound like Owen, but I think it’s such a great choice for a middle name.

By: British American

British American — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:56:01 +0000

Yeah, when I see it written down, I see “Owen with an L” and that makes me think “boy” too.

The -wen sound makes me think of the name Morwenna. I’d never heard the name until I went to university (in the UK) and there were 2 of them in my class. One went by “Wenna”, which I thought was pretty cool.

By: Sebastiane

Sebastiane — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:23:24 +0000

The history is cool, the meaning nice, but, I think in reality this would be constantly misheard as Owen.