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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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overthemountainsandfaraway · 03/10/2020 18:16

I like it.

Also like Arwen?

MikeUniformMike · 03/10/2020 18:11

@cobblers123, olwyn is the welsh word for wheel.
It isn't a traditional welsh girl's name.

SionnachRua · 03/10/2020 18:02

I don't like it at all, very dowdy name. Having said that I do appreciate that it's not Ella/Sophie/Ava etc blandness and would stand out from the rest.

Crankley · 03/10/2020 17:58

My Welsh DM's name was Olwyn.

devildeepbluesea · 03/10/2020 16:44

@SeanCailleach I'm a fluent Welsh speaker. Olwen very definitely does mean white footprint (or, at least, "white remains"). It may not be the origin, I'm not up on name etymology, but it is what today's Welsh speakers would understand.

SeanCailleach · 03/10/2020 16:39

Stop it with your wheels you daft bunnies.

"Olwen" doesn't even mean "white footprint" That's just a lovely story to add rich imagery to a tale told by firelight. It's a lovely ancient name from the times before Welsh was written down.

CaffiSaliMali · 03/10/2020 16:36

I know an Olwyn too Drama - my Welsh speaking mother was highly amused!

CaffiSaliMali · 03/10/2020 16:33

Olwen is nice but a lot of people seem to pronounce Wen names as Wyn which makes them either boys names or no-name and when Olwen is mispronounced as Olwyn it becomes the Welsh word for wheel.

Look how often a thread about Bronwen gets 'I prefer the Bronwyn spelling' on here, or how often 'Bronwyn' is suggested as a Welsh name on Welsh name threads.

I know an Alwen who gets Alwyn a lot, but also Olwen and Olwyn a lot too. I also know an Alwyn who has a similar experience.

Olwen is theoretically simple Ol as in Oliver and wen as in when but some people will unfortunately call her Olwyn which may or may not bother you.

Alwenna is nice, as is Morwenna and the wenna sound feels a bit more modern.

There are loads of lovely Welsh names though if you fancy a Welsh name? Nia, Nerys, Mari, Ffion, Alys, Eira, Teleri for example.

DramaAlpaca · 03/10/2020 15:51

I quite like Olwen, it's simple and unfussy.

I know an Olwyn through work. Thanks to the knowledgeable Welsh posters on here I always think of wheels when I come across her Grin

cobblers123 · 03/10/2020 15:01

RantAndDec

Ha ha, yes I've just found it. No wonder mum preferred to be called something else she must have known even if her parents didn't. GrinGrin

RantAndDec · 03/10/2020 14:53

cobblers Olwyn is the Welsh word for wheel. The suffix -wyn is always male, and -wen is female.

Olwen is the Welsh equivalent to something like Pat or Shirley. Not old enough to be retro.

StCharlotte · 03/10/2020 14:53

@MikeUniformMike

Maureen is nice, as is Eileen.
They tend to be granny names - people older than 70. Wink
GRW · 03/10/2020 14:49

Talking of Welsh names ending in wen my late sister was called Ceridwen which was unusual even in Wales. She was always known as Ceri.

Quizeerascal · 03/10/2020 14:48

I like it, some people might mistake it as a boy's name but its easy to spell/say and is pretty

cobblers123 · 03/10/2020 14:46

MikeUniformMike

Just looked it up and it means "white footprint" apparently for both ways of spelling the name.

Where did "wheel" come from? Smile

MikeUniformMike · 03/10/2020 14:41

Maureen is nice, as is Eileen.

MikeUniformMike · 03/10/2020 14:40

Anwen makes me think of Annette. Dated.

Olwen, Branwen, Bronwen, Dwynwen and Rhonwen are ok, but the other -wen names are best forgotten IMO.

user1493494961 · 03/10/2020 14:40

It's very old-fashioned (and not in a good way).

MelrosePlace · 03/10/2020 14:36

I’m American and I’ve never heard the name. It’s pretty but as someone who moved to the UK with a child who had a name that is semi-common there but not known here at all it’s been a pain. Like yours it could be considered a name of the opposite gender if you’ve never heard it before and my DS gets really annoyed. I don’t know if it’s important to you to have a name that is recognizable outside of Britain but if it is this would not be that.

notso · 03/10/2020 14:32

I'm not keen. To me it's old fashioned but not in a good way more in a Maureen kind of way.

MikeUniformMike · 03/10/2020 14:32

@cobblers123, did your grandparents know that they named her Wheel?

NoSquirrels · 03/10/2020 14:25

Olsen Blush Olwen, obviously!

NoSquirrels · 03/10/2020 14:24

I like Olsen but it’s really very Welsh if you’re not - that’s all that would give me pause.

Anwen is my favourite ‘wen’ name by miles.

cobblers123 · 03/10/2020 14:21

My mum was Welsh and her name was Olwyn Leonora. I don't like Olwyn but quite like Leonora. Mum was never called Olwyn she was always known as Molly.

SeanCailleach · 03/10/2020 14:21

It's lovely. It is the name of a character in the Mabinogion, which is a 14th century collection of ancient legends and stories. Olwen is said to mean "white footprint" because she was so gentle, white flowers bloomed in her footprints.