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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Olwen

64 replies

ZebraKid71 · 03/10/2020 08:55

Thoughts? Any significant issues with it?

Due number 3 in January and struggling with girls names. Both my other kids have known but unusual names (think they were both 700 and something in last years stats) but that have a well known shortening/nickname. I don't care about names matching but this would fit nicely.

I lived in Wales for years but we aren't Welsh.

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Joolsin · 07/10/2020 21:51

I like it, have only ever known one - my friend in secondary school.

BabyItsAWildWorld · 07/10/2020 19:02

I think it's beautiful.

But I do love an old Welsh name.

I also love Dilys.

jessstan1 · 07/10/2020 18:53

Nice.

SomethingAboutYou · 07/10/2020 18:36

For those who said it is an old fashioned name, this is true, but it is making a revival and I know a couple of babies named Olwen now, so will be 'on trend' in a few months!!

AgrippinaT · 07/10/2020 17:11

Big fan of Olwen 👍🏼👍🏼

My mum's middle name (Welsh fam)

TheYeaSayer · 07/10/2020 17:10

I don't like it. It sounds wobbly.

VenusClapTrap · 06/10/2020 19:47

I think Olwen is a lovely name.

ImAnOlwyn · 05/10/2020 14:14

@Sboncen

You may have better luck with the “wen” than I had with the “wyn” - the run of consonants seems to throw people You'll get that with welsh names especially if the vowels in question are w or y. You'll also get it if you have a name like Neil or Sheila, and with irish names like Saoirse or Aoife.
Yes, I afflicted my children with Irish names so they could share my pain Grin
Sboncen · 05/10/2020 13:04

You may have better luck with the “wen” than I had with the “wyn” - the run of consonants seems to throw people
You'll get that with welsh names especially if the vowels in question are w or y. You'll also get it if you have a name like Neil or Sheila, and with irish names like Saoirse or Aoife.

Original poster
ZebraKid71 · 05/10/2020 09:20

Thank you for all your feedback, I really appreciate it.

The suggestion of Ceridwen made me smile, it's actually my eldest daughters middle name (after my best friend).

OP posts:
ImAnOlwyn · 04/10/2020 22:25

Wheel lady over here. Name changed, obvs. I have zero Welsh connections, am in my 30s and have no idea where my parents got my name from. Grew up in the south east where for whatever reason nobody could ever pronounce my name (always called Owen?!) or had it shortened to Olly which was fine. Moved to the West Midlands where greater proximity to Wales meant I came across a few people with the same name and people are better able to pronounce it. Growing up I was desperate to be called Sarah. You may have better luck with the “wen” than I had with the “wyn” - the run of consonants seems to throw people Grin

MikeUniformMike · 04/10/2020 22:21

Ol - trail
wen - white or blessed.

I'll look for it.

Gef shouldn't cause much problems other than Jeff.

SeanCailleach · 04/10/2020 22:07

Oops mixed threads!

SeanCailleach · 04/10/2020 22:01

@MikeUniformMike i thonk it was the colts Rhiannon gave birth to in "Pwll" but can't find a copy of the Mabinogion to check.

@ZebraKid71 what do you think of Gef meaning winter? I won't suggest Gaeaf bc that probably won't survive contact with English.

SeanCailleach · 04/10/2020 14:42

Oll- = "great" in Celtic
-Wyn/wen = "friend" it's an Indo-European word you get "win" in German and "winder" in Hindi, and "fin" in Irish.

In Irish and Welsh the "Fin"/ "win" part is usually taken to mean "fair" or "white". When you reinterpret with "friend" you get more credible result. Eg Olwen means "great friend" more sensible than "white footprint".

Daisyplace · 04/10/2020 13:50

I just immediately thought of The Handmaids Tale! Sorry!

MikeUniformMike · 04/10/2020 09:45

I know a NZer who calls himself Bin, but I wouldn't use that as a reason not to use a name as pretty as Olwen.

daisypond · 04/10/2020 07:44

I like it. I know a beautiful and very cool Olwen in her early 20s.

Jilljams · 04/10/2020 06:09

I know one Olwen, she’s in her 70’s so I think if it as an older woman’s name

MercyBodle · 04/10/2020 06:02

I like it.

Mamimawr · 03/10/2020 22:05

know

Mamimawr · 03/10/2020 22:04

I kniw three little girls called Olwen, it's a lovely name.

SeanCailleach · 03/10/2020 22:02

Any word with "-en" tends to get pronounced "-in". It's most noticeable in Kiwi (New Zealand) accents. If you think of it as an accent rather than switching from feminine to masculine then it might bother you less.

MikeUniformMike · 03/10/2020 18:26

The granny-name trend will bring back names like Doris and Hilda because they will seem fresh to younger people.
30 years ago I would not have predicted that names like Eva and Elsie would be popular again.

MikeUniformMike · 03/10/2020 18:18

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culhwch_and_Olwen. The name was from how flowers grew wherever she had walked.

Ceridwen is also an old welsh name, It is pronounced Kerr (as in Kerry) IDwen, but the ones I know, or knew as they are no longer with us, were called KRID-wen, which isn't very pretty.