Anwen

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Anwen is a Welsh female name. There are a number of English meanings, but the most common that most people seem to agree on is Very Beautiful. Other translations include fair, pure and white.

[edit] Similar sounding names

Anwen is not a very common name, though neither is it rare and it can be found in most Welsh baby naming books. Many people, however, have confused the name with the name Arwen from JRR Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings. The name Arwen means noble maiden in Sindarin. Other similar sounding names include Branwen, Dwynwen (the Welsh saint of love, whose name is given to Dydd Santes Dwynwen, the Welsh equivalent to Valentine's Day, which is celebrated on the 25th of January), Tanwen (which, although differing in only one letter, has the substantially different meaning of 'white fire' ) and Bronwen, which means 'white breast'.

[edit] Variations

The masculine version of the name is Anwyn, but outside of Wales, this is often viewed as a variant spelling of Anwen. Some people have argued that Anwen in itself could be interpreted as a variation on names such as Gwen, due to the shared meaning of white, particularly as "Angwen" is sometimes given as a variant.

[edit] As a surname

Although it is possible to have the name Anwen as a surname, it is even more rarely used in this way than it is as a first name.