Olwen
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- OL-wen
- Origin
- Welsh
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,344 for girls
Olwen is a girls' name of Welsh origin, meaning “white footprint”. In 2025 it ranked 2,344th for girls in the UK (12 babies).
What does Olwen mean?
Welsh: from ol, track, and gwen, white or blessed
“white footprint”
In the Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen, white clover sprang up wherever the giant's daughter Olwen trod.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Olwen a girl's or a boy's name?
Olwen is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 12 girls in the UK. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Olwen in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,344among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 12about 1 in 23,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 33% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 12 girls in the UK were named Olwen, making it the 2,344th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,864th. Its busiest year was 2023, with 17 girls.
Half of all the girls named Olwen in the UK since 1996 were born between 2012 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among girls in 2025, it was 2,276th in England and Wales.
Olwen in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | #2,344 |
| 2024 | 15 | #1,953 |
| 2023 | 17 | #1,798 |
| 2022 | 12 | #2,277 |
| 2021 | 10 | #2,658 |
| 2020 | 16 | #1,864 |
| 2019 | 9 | #2,792 |
| 2018 | 8 | #3,068 |
| 2017 | 11 | #2,485 |
| 2016 | 11 | #2,510 |
| 2015 | 4 | #4,951 |
| 2014 | 10 | #2,618 |
| 2013 | 7 | #3,338 |
| 2012 | 9 | #2,887 |
| 2011 | 4 | #4,980 |
| 2010 | 4 | #4,931 |
| 2009 | 4 | #4,795 |
| 2008 | 6 | #3,589 |
| 2007 | 7 | #3,060 |
| 2006 | 7 | #2,940 |
| 2005 | 3 | #4,976 |
| 2004 | 1 | #6,173 |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 1 | #5,540 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 1 | #5,182 |
| 1998 | 5 | #2,855 |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 1 | #5,054 |
Names like Olwen
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Eden Orla Olive Aoife Wren Winnie Oluwadarasimi Tiaraoluwa Remi Autumn Ocean Evelyn
Names related to Olwen
More Welsh names
Dylan Owen Maddox Morgan Idris Reese Bowen Griffin Rhys Gavin Reece Nia Seren Gwendolyn Winifred Meredith
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Olwen: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/olwen, updated 20 October 2026.