Fun Facts About the Name Owens
- 745 babies named Owens: U.S. records list 745 babies given the name Owens from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Owens Mean?
Owens is an English and Welsh patronymic surname meaning "son of Owen." It was formed with the English genitive ending -s, the same pattern found in Williams, Evans, Roberts, and Jones. The personal name behind it, Owen, is the ordinary English spelling of Welsh Owain; the two are best treated as one name in different languages rather than as separate names.
The customary explanation derives Owain from Latin Eugenius, which comes from Greek Eugenios, "well-born," built from eu- ("good, well") plus -genos ("birth, descent"). On that account the literal sense of the personal name is "well-born" or "noble by birth," while the surname's working sense stays the plain patronymic "son of Owen." This derivation is not universally accepted: some scholars have argued that Owain instead descends from an older Celtic name, with the Latin Eugenius connection being a later learned association. Either way, the surname itself means what it says: a son of a man named Owen.
Owens Name History & Origins
Surnames made by adding -s to a father's given name are an old English pattern, and Owens sits in that group. The personal name Owen was in use in England and along the Welsh Marches through the Middle Ages, and an English-style Owen plus -s surname developed alongside the separate Welsh system of naming. In Wales itself, inherited surnames arrived late. For centuries a man was identified by a chain of patronymics using ap ("son of"), so a son of Owain was ap Owain. That Welsh construction survives in the surname Bowen, which also means "son of Owen" but by a different route; Owens reaches the same sense through the English genitive.
Fixed, inherited surnames became general in Wales during the sixteenth century, as English law and administration, extended by the legislation of 1536 and 1543, made permanent family names the practical norm in legal and land records. Patronymics that had shifted with each generation were frozen, and forms such as Owens, Evans, and Williams settled into the shape they still have.
The personal name Owen, which gives the surname its root, was borne by Owain Gwynedd, a twelfth-century ruler in north Wales, and by Owain Glyndŵr, the Welsh prince who led a revolt against English rule that began in 1400. In Ireland, Owen was also used as an English form of the Gaelic personal name Eoghan, so some Irish families called Owens may descend from that name rather than from Welsh Owain; because the two were anglicized in similar ways, records do not always separate them.
As a first name, Owens is used occasionally, mostly in the English-speaking world, following the broad modern habit of taking surnames as given names. Its use as a personal name is a later development than its long life as a family name.
How Popular is the Name Owens?
Owens recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1921. Its best rank was #956 in 1896.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #7,086 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2024 | #8,769 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2023 | #8,096 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2022 | #7,608 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2021 | #13,566 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2020 | #13,537 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2019 | #10,519 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2018 | #11,774 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2017 | #13,730 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #6,978 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2011 | #11,887 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #12,085 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #10,727 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 2005 | #7,509 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2002 | #11,992 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #10,002 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #6,962 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #5,352 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1979 | #4,727 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #6,511 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #6,581 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1974 | #5,787 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1968 | #3,294 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1964 | #3,000 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1962 | #2,797 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1960 | #3,570 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1958 | #3,825 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1957 | #2,349 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1956 | #2,745 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1955 | #3,418 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1954 | #2,896 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1953 | #3,081 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1952 | #3,040 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1951 | #2,618 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1950 | #2,292 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1949 | #2,090 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1948 | #4,055 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1947 | #4,131 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1946 | #2,504 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1945 | #2,353 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1944 | #2,590 | 9 | 0.0007% |
| 1943 | #3,160 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1942 | #2,885 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1941 | #3,068 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1940 | #2,282 | 11 | 0.0009% |
| 1939 | #2,406 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1938 | #2,287 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1937 | #3,890 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1936 | #3,082 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1935 | #2,104 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1934 | #3,574 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1933 | #1,815 | 16 | 0.0016% |
| 1932 | #2,433 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1931 | #2,603 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1930 | #2,950 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1929 | #1,844 | 18 | 0.0017% |
| 1928 | #2,798 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1927 | #1,632 | 23 | 0.0020% |
| 1926 | #2,688 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1925 | #2,553 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1924 | #1,951 | 18 | 0.0016% |
| 1923 | #2,097 | 16 | 0.0015% |
| 1922 | #1,810 | 20 | 0.0018% |
| 1921 | #1,632 | 23 | 0.0021% |
| 1920 | #2,312 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1919 | #2,039 | 16 | 0.0016% |
| 1918 | #3,041 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1917 | #1,883 | 17 | 0.0018% |
| 1916 | #2,501 | 11 | 0.0012% |
| 1915 | #2,574 | 10 | 0.0012% |
| 1914 | #1,753 | 14 | 0.0021% |
| 1913 | #2,720 | 6 | 0.0012% |
| 1912 | #1,846 | 9 | 0.0021% |
| 1902 | #1,001 | 7 | 0.0057% |
| 1900 | #1,029 | 8 | 0.0053% |
| 1896 | #956 | 7 | 0.0059% |
| 1890 | #969 | 6 | 0.0054% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Owens Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are patient, persevering and strong willed. You are a good student, absorbing knowledge easily and retaining it well. You are either a saint or a sinner. You tend to hold things inside and suffer in silence. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Owens's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Owens's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.