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Owen

boy name
Origin
Welsh
Syllables
2
Peak era
2010s
Today
▲ Rising

Torn between Owen and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

a venerable Welsh name, traditionally traced to the Greek Eugenios, "well-born," through Ouein and Owain, the knight of Arthurian romance; princes of Wales bore it for centuries before it settled into gentle modern favor across the Atlantic

The story

Owen is one of the oldest names in Welsh, worn as Owain by princes and by a knight of Arthurian romance, and traditionally traced back to the Greek Eugenios, well-born. Owain Glyndwr, the last Welsh-born Prince of Wales, made it a banner of national pride in the early fifteenth century, and Welsh families never let it go. In American records Owen spent a full hundred years as a steady murmur, never absent, never fashionable, the kind of name a beloved uncle had. Then, around the turn of the millennium, it caught the rising taste for soft, vowel-forward boys' names and climbed fast to a 2010s peak, easing only slightly since. Owen Wilson's amiable stardom unfolded across those same years, though the broader fashion likely deserves most of the credit. Gentle in sound, princely in pedigree, Owen wears both lightly.

More names with stories →

How popular is Owen around the world?

In the United States, 49,006 babies were named Owen between 2020 and 2025.

Owen is on the official records of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, South Australia, France, Scotland, Argentina, New Zealand, Mexico City, England and Wales, Ireland, Chile, Montevideo, Austria, Spain and Brazil.

Owen crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish

United States

1 in 440

In the United States, 49,006 babies were named Owen between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 2010s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Owen peaked in the 2010s.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Canada

1 in 460

In Canada, 803 boys named Owen were born in 2024, the 22nd most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 20042024

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

See the full list for Canada →

Puerto Rico

1 in 600

In Puerto Rico, 30 babies were named Owen in 2025, and 439 have carried the name since 1998.

1998peak 2025

share of that year’s births on record

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

South Australia

1 in 610 · 2017

In South Australia, 30 boys were registered as Owen in 2017.

1944peak 2010

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

France

1 in 780

In France, about 825 boys named Owen were born in 2025, the 72nd most common name among boys that year.

1970peak 2022

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

Scotland

1 in 820

In Scotland, 56 boys named Owen were registered in 2024, the 95th most common name among boys that year.

1974peak 20092024

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

See the full list for Scotland →

Argentina

1 in 1,100

In Argentina, 614 newborns were given the name Owen in 2024.

2012peak 2024

share of that year’s name registrations

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

See the full list for Argentina →

New Zealand

1 in 1,400

In New Zealand, 41 boys named Owen were registered in 2025.

1900peak 19312025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

Mexico City City

1 in 2,000

In Mexico City, there were 60 registrations of Owen in 2022.

2000peak 20142022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (2 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

See the full list for Mexico City →

England and Wales

1 in 2,000

In England and Wales, 298 boys named Owen were born in 2025, the 170th most common name among boys that year.

peak 20022025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

Ireland

1 in 4,200

In Ireland, 13 boys named Owen were born in 2025, the 317th most common name among boys that year.

peak 19782025

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

See the full list for Ireland →

Chile

1 in 5,200

In Chile, 34 boys were registered as Owen in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 2021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

See the full list for Chile →

Montevideo City

1 in 6,200 · 2011

In Montevideo, 4 boys named Owen were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

Austria

1 in 11,000

In Austria, 7 boys named Owen were born in 2025, the 594th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

See the full list for Austria →

Spain

1 in 66,000

In Spain, 677 residents are named Owen, ranked 1,861st among men, with a mean age of 12 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

See the full list for Spain →

Brazil

1 in 1M

At the 2022 census, 144 people in Brazil were named Owen, ranked 31,978th, with a median age of 3.
Among people named Owen living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.

peak 2010s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 85 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

See the full list for Brazil →

New South Wales

outside the top 100

Owen is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.

1952peak 2016

share of that year’s top-100 registrations

New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names

See the full list for New South Wales →

Poland

last on record 2023

Owen is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Owen

Most people given the name Owen in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Owen

Evan Rhys Gavin Liam Oliver Bryce

Keep exploring

Names like Owen · Names that go with Owen · Middle names for Owen · Warrior names · Short names · Nickname-proof names

The Owen deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Owen truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Owen fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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