Name of the Week

 

An attractive and underused name given to a famed
beauty in Welsh mythology. 

 

Origin:

From the Welsh ôl  'track' and gwen 'white, fair, blessed'.

Usage:

In Welsh mythology Olwen appears in the tale Culhwch and Olwen, first found written in the Red Book of Hergest and the White Book of Rhydderch, which later formed the basis for the Mabinogion. It is believed to be the earliest Arthurian romance and one of the first recorded examples of Welsh prose.  In the tale Culhwch, the son of King Cylidd, is cursed by his step-mother that he may only marry the beautiful Olwen, daughter of the giant king Ysbaddaden Pencawr. Ysbaddaden was faited to die should Olwen ever marry. In order to prevent that event the giant would set a series of impossible tasks for any of her suitors in order to win her hand. None ever succeed.  With the help of his cousin King Arthur and the knights Cai, Bedwyr, Gawain, Gwhyr, Menw and Cynddylig, Culhwch eventually finds the beautiful Olwen and falls in love with her. It is said that a trail of white trefoils would spring up from the ground wherever she walked, hence her name of "white track". With Arthur and the knights' help, Culhwch was able to complete the tasks and win Olwen's hand.  Olwen was one of the few Welsh girls names that can be found used, although infrequently, in the 18th and early 19th century in Wales. It enjoyed a big resurgence at the end of the 19th century but is now quite rare. Only three girls were named Olwen in 2009 in England and Wales and one in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

* Olwen Fouéré is an Irish-French actress.   * Dame Olwen Hufton is a renowned British historian.  * Olwen Wymark was an American writer. * The Dream of Olwen is a musical theme, composed by Charles Williams, for the film Where I Live. One of the main character of the film is Olwen Trevelyan, a young pianist.

Variants:

Olwenna

Possible diminutives:

Olly, Wenna, Lola

Sibling Names:

Luned      Isolde     Eleri     Angharad     Nia     Rhiannon  Gawain     Macsen      Cadoc     Tristan      Geraint     Arthur

Name Lists:

Mythology   Clunky Celtic

If you like Olwen you may also like:   Bronwen, Rowena, Orla, Guinevere, Anwen, Rhian, Arianwen, Owena, Eirwen, Melangell, Ceridwen