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
Ceridwen
“The etymology of Ceridwen is debated, but the most common interpretation draws on Welsh "cerdd" meaning "poetry" or "craft" and "gwen" meaning "white" or "blessed" — suggesting "blessed poetry" or "fair craftswoman". Another reading connects it to "creirwy" (a precious thing) and "gwen". In Welsh mythology she is the enchantress who brews the cauldron of poetic inspiration (the Awen) from which the bard Taliesin is born.”
Angharad
“Derived from the Old Welsh elements "an" (intensive prefix) and "câr" meaning "love" — together meaning "much loved" or "greatly beloved". The name was borne by several important women in Welsh history and legend, including Angharad, the beloved of Peredur (the Welsh Percival) in the Arthurian romances, and Angharad ferch Meurig, queen of Gwynedd in the 10th century.”
Gweneth
“Welsh feminine name derived from "gwen" meaning "white", "blessed", or "fair" combined with a suffix, giving the meaning "blessed white one" or simply "fair woman". A variant of Gwyneth (from "Gwynedd", a region of north Wales), the name has been used in Wales since the medieval period and carries the cultural associations of Welsh feminine beauty and the "gwen" tradition of blessed, pure names.”
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.”
Creirwy
“Welsh name meaning "jewel of the egg" or "dear token", from "crair" (relic, jewel, dear thing) and "wy" (egg or water). In Welsh mythology, Creirwy is the daughter of Ceridwen and Tegid Foel — described as the most beautiful girl in the world, in deliberate contrast to her brother Morfran, who was the ugliest boy. She appears in the Hanes Taliesin as one of the few named children of the enchantress Ceridwen.”
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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