Character Name
Owain
Owain Owain has the dual quality of the warrior and the romantic — a name for characters defined by both martial excellence and an intense, sometimes impractical capacity for devotion. The Owain Glyndŵr historical resonance gives the name a quality of proud, perhaps doomed, resistance to overwhelming force — the last stand of a culture rather than the merely personal heroics.
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Famous characters named Owain
Owain ap Urien
Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain (Mabinogion) — Anonymous (Medieval Welsh)
The Welsh Arthurian knight who defeats the Black Knight, marries the Lady of the Fountain, and must reconcile his duty to his lord Arthur with his love for his wife.
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Related names
Gawain
Welsh · “Derived from the Welsh name "Gwalchmei", meaning "hawk of May" or "hawk of the plain", from "gwalch" (hawk) and "mei" (May) or "mei" (field). Alternatively derived from a Brythonic form meaning "white hawk". Sir Gawain is one of the most important knights of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, nephew to King Arthur and known for his legendary courtesy, honour, and prowess in arms.”
Emrys
Welsh · “Welsh form of the Late Latin "Ambrosius", from the Greek "ambrosios" meaning "immortal" or "divine", from "ambrotos" (immortal). Emrys is most famous as the Welsh name of the legendary wizard Merlin, who appears as "Myrddin Emrys" in Welsh tradition — the prophetic magician who serves as counsellor to Uther Pendragon and Arthur. The name carries associations with prophecy, hidden knowledge, and sacred power.”
Bedwyr
Welsh · “Derived from Welsh elements, possibly from "bedw" meaning "birch" and "gwyrr" meaning "man" — together meaning "birch man". Bedwyr was one of the original companions of King Arthur in early Welsh tradition — the one-handed warrior who was Arthur's most loyal champion long before the French romances invented Lancelot. In the Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen, Bedwyr is described as the swiftest and most faithful of Arthur's men.”
Pryderi
Welsh · “Derived from the Welsh word "pryder" meaning "care", "worry", or "anxiety" — his mother Rhiannon named him thus because she had been sorrowed and worried (pryder) through his mysterious disappearance at birth. Pryderi is a central figure of the Mabinogi, appearing in all four branches, making him one of the most significant characters in Welsh mythological tradition.”
Cai
Chinese · “A Chinese given name written as 才 meaning "talent" or "gift", or 彩 meaning "color", "brilliance", or "luck". The character 才 is direct in its meaning: raw ability, natural gift, the innate capacity that education can refine but cannot create. 彩 (color/brilliance) suggests a more vivid, public quality of excellence — someone who lights up any room they enter. Cai is also one of China's historical surnames.”
More Welsh names
Dyfan
“Welsh name of uncertain etymology, possibly related to "dyfan" meaning "deep" or from a root connected to "tyfan" (to grow). Saint Dyfan is said to have been one of the first Christians to come to Britain, sent by Pope Eleutherius in the 2nd century — a tradition preserved in Welsh hagiography that gives this rare name strong associations with early Celtic Christianity.”
Branwen
“Derived from the Old Welsh elements "bran" meaning "raven" and "gwen" meaning "white" or "blessed" — together meaning "white raven" or "blessed raven". In the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, Branwen is the daughter of Llŷr, described as one of the three chief ladies of the island of Britain, whose forced marriage to the Irish king Matholwch and subsequent mistreatment trigger a catastrophic war between Britain and Ireland.”
Winnie
“Winnie is a diminutive of Winifred, which derives from the Welsh name Gwenfrewi, composed of "gwen" meaning "white, fair, blessed" and "frew" or "frewi" possibly meaning "reconciliation" or "peace". It is also used as a short form of Edwina or Gwendolyn. The name gained enormous cultural presence through A. A. Milne's beloved bear character Winnie-the-Pooh.”
Cynddylan
“Derived from Welsh elements, probably "cyn" meaning "chief" or "first" and "dwylan" possibly from "dwylaw" (two hands) or from a personal name — giving a heroic meaning along the lines of "foremost in battle". Cynddylan ap Cyndrwyn was a 7th-century Welsh king of Powys whose death in battle against the Northumbrians is lamented in the elegiac poem "Canu Llywarch Hen", one of the earliest surviving Welsh poems.”
Bran
“Derived from the Old Welsh and Old Irish word "bran" meaning "raven". In Welsh mythology, Bran the Blessed (Bendigeidfran) is a giant king of Britain who possesses a magical cauldron capable of restoring the dead to life. In Irish mythology, Bran mac Febail is the hero of an early voyage tale, sailing to the otherworldly islands of the west. The raven was a bird of prophecy and the battlefield in Celtic tradition.”
Arianrhod
“Derived from the Welsh elements "arian" meaning "silver" and "rhod" meaning "wheel" or "disc" — together meaning "silver wheel" or "silver disc", likely a reference to the moon or a spinning wheel. Arianrhod is a powerful figure in Welsh mythology, the daughter of Dôn and mother of Lleu Llaw Gyffes, who cursed her son three times in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi.”
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