Owen Surname

2,750th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 203,153 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Wales

Owen Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Owen.' Owens is the genitive form; compare Jones, Jennings, Williams, Simmonds, &c.

Hoel fil. Oeni, Pipe Roll, 7 Henry II.

Oenus de Porchint, ibid.

Nicholas fil.

Read More About This Surname

Owen Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States85,3571:4,246474
England49,4091:1,128113
Wales21,5901:14315
Australia14,1971:1,902241
Canada6,2151:5,928858
Libya3,8321:1,629473
Nigeria3,8051:46,5553,619
Ghana2,9091:9,2891,249
New Zealand2,3021:1,967263
South Africa2,1731:24,9323,175
Scotland1,3821:3,874683
Papua New Guinea8041:10,141854
Malawi7321:23,3873,582
Tanzania7161:73,9417,700
Kenya7031:65,6906,310
Saudi Arabia5571:55,3967,891
Egypt5491:167,46012,562
Jamaica4591:6,253780
Thailand4321:163,51526,170
China3201:4,272,880431
France3141:211,53732,901
Argentina3101:137,88211,676
Ireland3011:15,6441,752
Spain3011:155,32211,365
Germany2721:295,97630,536
Indonesia2661:497,17740,699
Northern Ireland2411:7,6561,307
Malaysia1751:168,53810,283
Trinidad and Tobago1611:8,4721,216
Netherlands1341:126,02419,691
Uganda1091:358,15923,337
Bahrain1031:13,0932,472
Honduras991:89,0551,606
Russia891:1,619,360108,163
Zimbabwe861:179,51421,615
Philippines791:1,281,49697,319
Switzerland781:105,29411,128
Guam621:2,583336
Liberia581:76,0096,407
Sweden581:169,77211,770
Brazil561:3,822,756105,432
Botswana551:39,7627,636
Mexico521:2,387,04220,469
India501:15,341,308250,737
Malta481:8,964551
Panama481:81,5053,340
Solomon Islands481:12,0842,184
Isle of Man471:1,826344
Suriname451:12,2803,102
Cyprus431:20,5792,325
Norway431:119,58815,719
Greece401:276,99541,298
Iraq371:946,53112,381
Chile351:503,32812,866
Denmark331:171,05214,584
Venezuela331:915,27514,245
Hong Kong321:229,2343,021
Jersey321:3,100566
DR Congo271:2,736,280122,818
Belgium261:442,17945,013
Angola251:1,079,5693,117
Peru241:1,324,33821,383
Dominican Republic231:453,60614,824
Afghanistan221:1,461,50812,026
Taiwan211:1,116,4167,706
Cayman Islands191:3,363451
Costa Rica161:298,7543,169
Poland151:2,533,917108,409
Czechia141:759,53467,321
Italy141:4,368,335106,343
Japan141:9,131,73544,780
Iceland131:29,2382,297
Singapore131:423,66918,211
United Arab Emirates121:763,52325,625
Austria111:774,13064,097
Barbados111:26,1321,223
Bermuda101:6,5281,005
Cameroon101:2,076,907105,188
Israel101:855,76354,181
Northern Cyprus101:31,9016,529
South Korea101:5,124,026903
Colombia91:5,308,23018,838
Sri Lanka91:2,312,0629,186
Tajikistan91:931,8555,350
Estonia81:165,22626,217
Ivory Coast81:2,883,90443,419
Slovakia81:667,05668,191
Turks and Caicos Islands81:4,291379
Zambia81:1,981,24032,669
Benin71:1,476,51557,381
Puerto Rico71:507,1633,435
United States Virgin Islands71:15,7682,111
Vietnam71:13,235,1512,948
Antigua and Barbuda61:16,5281,436
Belarus61:1,583,51089,472
Gibraltar61:5,659991
Kazakhstan61:2,947,083107,736
Namibia61:401,56710,578
Nauru61:1,980298
Qatar61:393,00055,922
Saint Lucia61:29,7971,820
Anguilla51:2,687256
Finland51:1,099,34045,512
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha51:1,171114
Turkey51:15,564,284149,633
Algeria41:9,657,88864,782
Bangladesh41:39,839,19317,324
Ecuador41:3,976,46228,589
Guatemala41:4,020,6677,726
Guernsey41:16,1101,225
Kuwait41:950,17418,811
Mauritius41:323,35410,053
Morocco41:8,619,02573,251
Portugal41:2,604,56016,079
Guyana31:254,07411,262
Iran31:25,594,175224,183
Monaco31:12,3552,088
Oman31:1,229,3248,987
Bahamas21:195,8761,708
Bosnia and Herzegovina21:1,768,20116,841
Croatia21:2,114,30285,143
Georgia21:1,872,77235,618
Macau21:300,8151,009
Montserrat21:2,474299
Nicaragua21:3,010,5457,383
Paraguay21:3,618,37313,977
Romania21:10,038,93580,612
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines21:56,3301,327
Ukraine21:22,761,348425,733
Albania11:2,914,05529,474
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
British Virgin Islands11:31,5941,029
Brunei11:418,7313,893
Congo11:4,989,09634,171
Ethiopia11:97,546,26229,669
Falkland Islands11:3,132317
French Polynesia11:280,8057,211
Gabon11:1,889,1946,814
Grenada11:108,5351,793
Hungary11:9,816,27773,288
Jordan11:8,842,43726,010
Laos11:6,588,3231,961
Lebanon11:5,637,08332,436
Lithuania11:3,034,58847,401
Luxembourg11:580,54215,155
Mauritania11:4,094,86338,869
Moldova11:3,561,36878,271
Mongolia11:2,825,28917,010
Myanmar11:51,937,9852,166
New Caledonia11:276,22310,363
Pakistan11:178,643,885213,220
Saint Kitts and Nevis11:55,1991,294
Samoa11:193,8081,089
Senegal11:14,579,34211,705
Serbia11:7,144,94838,459
Somalia11:13,452,0619,224
Sudan11:37,510,19514,259
Syria11:19,301,02222,457
Togo11:7,247,76812,049
Tunisia11:610,62630,336
Uzbekistan11:30,929,14267,786
Vanuatu11:263,2762,086
Yemen11:26,425,29455,147
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland2041:21,7152,469
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England19,2431:1,267151
Wales16,1731:9716
Scotland2721:13,7621,592
Jersey91:5,7651,004
Isle of Man61:9,045877
Guernsey11:32,6562,283
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States19,3301:2,598282

The alternate forms: Owén (51) & Owën (1) are calculated separately.

Owen (185,937) may also be a first name.

Owen Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Owen.' Owens is the genitive form; compare Jones, Jennings, Williams, Simmonds, &c.

Hoel fil. Oeni, Pipe Roll, 7 Henry II.

Oenus de Porchint, ibid.

Nicholas fil. Oweyn, Oxfordshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Richard fil. Owen, Cambridgeshire, ibid.

Matthew Owen, Wiltshire, 1316. Writs of Parliament.

1742. Married — Cornelius Owen and Elizabeth Rowell: St. George's Chapel, Mayfair.

1747. — Rowland Owens and Sarah Narboys: ibid.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

The Welsh and Irish Anglicized Owen, O.Wel. Owein = Irish Eoghan (Old Irish Eogan) = Gaelic Eóghann are prob. from Latin Eugenius, Greek Εύγενής = Well-Born [Greek εΰ-, noble + γενος, race, descent] Cormac’s Glossary gives this. origin for Eogan (one MS. Eogen); and Zimmer considers Owen to be borrowed from Latin Eugenius, as noted by MacBain, p. 400. The mediæval Latinization of Owen as Oenus led to a belief that the etymology was the Welsh and Breton oen, ‘a lamb.’ With much stronger reason it was at one time considered that the name represented Irish eoghunn = Gaelic ogan- [from Old Irish óc = Welsh og, young], ‘youth.’ Owein brenhin y Picteit (Owen, king of the Picts).— Brut y Tywysogion, A.D. 736. Maredud uab Owein (Meredith son of Owen) Brut y Tywysogion, A.D. 986. Owein uab Uryen.—‘Iarlles y ffynnawn ’ (Lady of the Fountain): Mabinogion.

‘Eóghan, diminutive Eóghainin= Owen, Eugene.’— T. Ua Concheanainn, Mion-Chomhrádh, p.126.

Cp. Ewan.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

“Well-Born” in Welsh. Compare “Eugene” in French.

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

(Welsh) The son of Owen (wellborn).

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

A personal name in Wales. Most of our Owens are from that principality, hut it is possible that a few may be of Saxon blood, for there is an Owine in the Domesday of Yorkshire, and a still earlier Owine occurs in the Codex Diplomatieus. It is one of the most common of Welsh surnames. As I have elsewhere observed in this volume, the commonness of Welsh patronymics has tended to a great confusion of the ' gentle ' and the ' simple ' in Wales. There are thousands of Owens who bear that name simply because their grandfathers or perhaps their fathers bore it as a Christian name. In ancient families the patrynomic became a stationary family name about the times of Henry VIII. and Queen Elizabeth.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

(Celtic.) The good offspring. Oen, Welsh, and Gaelic, uan, a lamb.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

In some cases from De St. Ouen, or Audoen, from St. Ouen, near Caen, Normandy. Bernard de St. Audoen held in Kent 1086 (Domesd.). Gilbert St. A. 1103 witnessed a charter of Philip de Braiose (Mon. ii. 973). The name thenceforth occurs in all parts of England. The Claphams of Sussex were a branch of St. Ouen. The name is also borne by Cambro-Celtic families.

The Norman People (1874)

British personal name Alsofrom the Danish, Owen; from the French, Ouin; personal name Ouen is a tenant in the Domesday Book., temp. Ed. Con.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Owen Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Owen Come From? nationality or country of origin

Owen (Arabic: اوين, Hindi: ओएन) occurs most in The United States. It can also occur in the variant forms: Owén or Owën. For other possible spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Owen? popularity and diffusion

It is the 2,750th most frequently used last name throughout the world. It is borne by around 1 in 35,872 people. This surname occurs mostly in The Americas, where 43 percent of Owen live; 42 percent live in North America and 42 percent live in Anglo-North America. Owen is also the 5,641st most commonly used first name in the world, borne by 185,937 people.

Owen is most frequently used in The United States, where it is held by 85,357 people, or 1 in 4,246. In The United States it is mostly found in: Texas, where 11 percent are found, California, where 9 percent are found and North Carolina, where 5 percent are found. Without taking into account The United States this last name exists in 162 countries. It also occurs in England, where 24 percent are found and Wales, where 11 percent are found.

Owen Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Owen has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people carrying the Owen last name increased 442 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 257 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it increased 133 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it increased 508 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it increased 148 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Owen Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those holding the surname is predominantly Anglican (59%) in Ireland, Orthodox (100%) in Russia and Christian (100%) in Kenya.

In The United States those bearing the Owen last name are 17.85% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 64.62% being registered with the party.

The amount Owen earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 8.88% more than the national average, earning 376,816 kr per year; in Peru they earn 29.08% less than the national average, earning S/. 13,748 per year; in South Africa they earn 53.69% more than the national average, earning R 365,220 per year; in Colombia they earn 39.53% less than the national average, earning $13,728,500 COP per year; in United States they earn 1.65% more than the national average, earning $43,863 USD per year and in Canada they earn 7.36% more than the national average, earning $53,340 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Owén9251/
Owën921/
Howen89847/
Owene89106/
Owhen8925/
Owean8925/
Owenn8917/
Owien8912/
Ouwen8911/
Owein898/
Owehn897/
Oween893/
Oowen892/
Owesn892/
Owwen892/
Owoen892/
Owuen892/
Ohwen891/
Own867,224/
Oen862,041/
Houwen801,515/
Owesen80140/
Howein8042/
Ouweng808/
Oweane807/
Owhene806/
Oywene804/
Howehn802/
Gowein802/
Oweine802/
D'Owen802/
Gowgen801/
Owesin801/
Owuene801/
Ouwean801/
Ouwene801/
Owenne801/
Ohweng801/
Ohwene801/
Huowen801/
Oweten801/
Goween801/
Oswent800/
Gowean800/
Howien800/
Gowhen800/
Oben758,597/
Oyen752,591/
Uwen752,027/
Goen751,911/
Oven751,843/
Oien751,716/
Awen751,068/
Ojen75953/
Owin75532/
Owem75463/
Owne75108/
Ouen75102/
Hown7521/
Ouwn756/
Oenn754/
Eoen753/
Ownc753/
Ohwn752/
Oewn751/
Oiwn751/
Oywn751/
Oevn751/
Oeyn751/
Ownn750/
Howisen7326/
Oweineh7324/
Houweng7314/
Owenová733/
Owenova732/
Hooswen731/
Howetin731/
Owengue731/
Oweseen731/
Hoven674,938/
Outen672,060/
Awene671,756/
Hoben671,225/
Goyen671,101/
Obein67856/
Goven67727/
Oyeng67712/
Awhen67575/
Hoyen67540/
Gojen67468/
Ovien67402/
Oyene67264/
Houen67244/
Ahwen67216/
Ouben67210/
Awaen67175/
Hoien67153/
Ooyen67146/
Ousen67122/
Auwen67104/
Oiene6795/
Owain6767/
Hoenn6767/
Osven6763/
Gouen6754/
Ewean6751/
Hawen6749/
Uhwen6741/
Goien6737/
Ovene6736/
Oisen6729/
Euwen6728/
Ewein6728/
Ohwin6728/
Owhin6727/
Oggen6725/
Ewhen6724/
Huwen6723/
Owień6719/
Awean6719/
Obeyn6718/
Hojen6717/
Oveng6717/
Aween6715/
Oejen6715/
Ouene6713/
Owine6711/
Awien6711/
Ojien679/
Oysen679/
Howem678/
Osuen678/
Ovein678/
Oweim677/
Oueng676/
Uwehn676/
O'Ven676/
Obenn675/
Yoyen675/
Ovent675/
Oeien675/
Howin674/
Hoswn674/
Oewin674/
Obeen673/
Ovhen673/
Aouen673/
Obhen672/
Oswem672/
Oveun672/
Ooien672/
Ojend672/
Ouyen672/
Oeuen671/
Oeuin671/
Obean671/
Ouend671/
Ouweinne671/
Ovenn671/
Owhnn671/
Owinn671/
Oyven671/
Ohven671/
Howeisen671/
Hoevn671/
Awein671/
Goenn671/
Ohean671/
Oiven671/
Uweun671/
Ownne671/
Oyenn671/
Ouven671/
Ovend671/
Ouwin671/
Ovean671/
Owetting671/
Ojwng671/
Goenh671/
Awuen671/
Owìnø671/
Oyten671/
Awenh671/
Ohwem671/
Ohuen671/
Ooben671/
Ojemn671/
Awehn671/
Oyemn671/
Owheinhe671/
Owhem671/
Owjnk671/
Oevhn671/
Oewyn671/
Yojen671/
Goehn671/
Gownn671/
Gouwn671/
Hoenh671/
Oevin670/
Howne670/
Hoown670/

Owen Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Owen in the Hindi language
ओएनo'ena-
Owen in the Arabic language
اوينawyn-

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Owen Reference & Research

Owen DNA Website - A web page dedicated to the genetic research of those who bear the surname and its variants.

Owen FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Owen
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis