NameCensus.

UK boy's name

Owen

Welsh masculine name meaning "young warrior" or "well-born".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Owen is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Owen popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #155, with 332 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2002, with 2,349 births.

This profile covers 33,517 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 14% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 38,296 living people in the UK are called Owen. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Owen ranked #155 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 332 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2002, when 2,349 boys were registered as Owen.
  • Owen ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #95 in 2024.
  • About 38,296 living people in the UK are estimated to have Owen as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#155

2024

Births in 2024

332

Latest year

Peak year

2002

2,349 births

Estimated living

38,296

2026

Meaning

What does Owen mean?

The name Owen has its roots in the Welsh language and culture, originating as a variant of the name Owain. It is derived from the Welsh word "eogyn," meaning "well-born" or "youth." The name gained widespread popularity in Wales during the Middle Ages.

Owain ap Gruffydd, also known as Owen Glendower, was a renowned Welsh prince and military leader who led a long-running but ultimately unsuccessful revolt against the English crown in the early 15th century. He is considered one of the most celebrated figures in Welsh history and is credited with helping to keep the Welsh language and culture alive during a time of English dominance.

Another notable bearer of the name was Owen Roe O'Neill, an Irish military leader who fought for the Catholic Confederation of Kilkenny during the Irish Confederate Wars in the 17th century. He was a skilled strategist and commander, and his exploits against the English forces earned him a reputation as one of Ireland's greatest soldiers.

In the realm of literature, Owen Felltham was an English essayist and moralist who lived in the early 17th century. His best-known work, "Resolves: Divine, Moral, and Political," was a collection of essays that explored various philosophical and moral topics, and it was widely read and admired during his lifetime.

Another notable figure was Owen Glendower Paterson, a Welsh-born American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Tennessee in the late 19th century. He was a prominent figure in the Republican Party and was known for his advocacy of civil rights and education reforms.

In the world of science, Owen Willans Richardson was a British physicist and Nobel laureate who made significant contributions to the study of thermionic emission, a process that involves the release of electrons from a heated material. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1928 for his groundbreaking work in this field.

These examples highlight the enduring legacy and historical significance of the name Owen, which has been borne by notable individuals across various cultures and fields throughout the centuries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Owen over time

The chart below shows babies named Owen registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Owen, the clearest high point is 2002. The latest England and Wales figure is 332 births in 2024, compared with 2,349 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Owen
05871K2K2K199620102024

Decades

Owen by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Owen was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #144 1,874 5
2010s #96 7,048 10
2000s #39 19,149 10
1990s #62 5,446 4

Geography

Where Owen is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Owen. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Owen ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #95 in 2024.

Scotland
56
Northern Ireland
9

Across the UK

Owen in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#95 in 2024

51 years of NRS records, 4,125 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#216 in 2024

28 years of NISRA records, 991 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Owen

  • Owen Windsor

    association football player

    English association football player

    2001-

  • Owen Watkin

    rugby union player

    Welsh rugby union player

    1996-

  • Owen Williams

    rugby union player

    Welsh rugby union footballer (1992-)

    1992-

  • Owen Williams

    rugby union player

    Welsh rugby union player, born 1991

    1991-

  • Owen Williams

    rugby union player

    Welsh rugby union player

    1986-

  • Owen Williams

    association football player

    English footballer (1896-1960)

    1896-1960

  • Owen Williams

    architect; engineer; civil engineer

    British civil engineer and architect (1890–1969)

    1890-1969

  • Owen Williams

    association football player

    English footballer

    1873-

Related

Names similar to Owen

FAQ

Owen: questions and answers

How popular is the name Owen in the UK right now?

In 2024, Owen was ranked #155 for boys in England and Wales, with 332 births registered.

When was Owen most popular?

The peak year on record was 2002, with 2,349 babies registered as Owen in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Owen?

Welsh masculine name meaning "young warrior" or "well-born".

How many people are called Owen in the UK?

A total of 33,517 babies have been registered as Owen across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 4,125 more in Scotland and 991 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Owen most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Owen ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #95 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.