Anwen is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

feminine

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...

. Notable bearers of the name are: * Anwen Williams, fictional character in the BBC series '' Torchwood'' (daughter of Gwen Cooper and Rhys Williams) * Anwen Keeling (born 1976), Australian painter * Anwen Muston, British Labour Party politician It is not a very common first name, though neither is it rare. However, Anwen is popularly confused with " Arwen", a name created by the author and linguist J. R. R. Tolkien for use in his novel '' The Lord of the Rings'', and modelled on the etymology and sound patterns of

. The origins of Anwen are somewhat unclear, though the -''wen'' ending is known to represent the mutated form of the adjective ''

gwen Gwen may refer to: * Gwen (given name), including a list of people with the name * ''Gwen, or the Book of Sand'', a 1985 animated film * Gwen (film), a 2018 horror film * Tropical Storm Gwen, several storms with the name Acronyms * AN/URC-117 Grou ...

'' (note: the ''G'' in ''gwen'' is dropped in a mutation of the word as the word follows a consonant), which is the feminine form of ''gwyn'', used to mean "white" as well as "blessed". There are many other dithematic -''wen'' names in use in Wales today, some examples being: *Arianwen, which is a compound of the Welsh word ''

arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...

'' meaning "silver" (possibly also found in ''

Arianrhod Arianrhod () is a figure in Welsh mythology who plays her most important role in the Fourth Branch of the ''Mabinogi''. She is the daughter of Dôn and the sister of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy; the Welsh Triads give her father as Beli Mawr.Triad 35. B ...

'') + -''wen'' * Branwen, formed from Welsh '' brân'' "crow" + -''wen'' *Rhianwen = ''

rhian Rhian ( ) is a feminine given name, a variation of ''rhiain'', the common Welsh word for " maiden". Rhian ( is sometimes used, albeit rarely, as a male name, possibly a modern spelling variant of Ryan. The first root, ''Rhian-'', derives from Bri ...

'', a form of ''rhiain'' "maiden" (also found in '' Rhiannon'') + -''wen'' *Tanwen = '' tân'' "fire" + -''wen'' The -''wen'' suffix used in the coining of many modern Welsh girls' names was originally appended to the names of female saints in the sense of "holy" or "blessed", roughly equivalent to English "

Saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

". Ceinwen ("Saint Cain") is an alternative name for the Welsh saint Cain, for example; cf. also ''

Dwynwen Saint Dwynwen (; 5th century), sometimes known as Dwyn or Donwen, is the Welsh patron saint of lovers. She is celebrated throughout Wales on 25 January. History and legend The original tale has become mixed with elements of folktales ...

'' "Saint Dwyn" and ''Meirwen'' "Saint Mary (

mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

)". The initial syllable (''An''-) is sometimes identified as an

intensive In grammar, an intensive word form is one which denotes stronger, more forceful, or more concentrated action relative to the root on which the intensive is built. Intensives are usually lexical formations, but there may be a regular process for for ...

prefix, hence "very" or "much" (also found at the beginning of ''

Angharad Angharad (; ) is a feminine given name in the Welsh language, having a long association with Welsh royalty, history and myth. It translates to English as ''much loved one''. In Welsh mythology, Angharad Golden-Hand is the lover of Peredur in th ...

''), and the name in full is commonly interpreted to mean "very beautiful" (a sort of prefixed form of ''

Gwen Gwen may refer to: * Gwen (given name), including a list of people with the name * ''Gwen, or the Book of Sand'', a 1985 animated film * Gwen (film), a 2018 horror film * Tropical Storm Gwen, several storms with the name Acronyms * AN/URC-117 Grou ...

'', in its sense of "pretty, fair"). It could also be inspired by the Welsh term of endearment ''annwyl'', which is used to mean "dear, beloved" (compare the surname Anwyl and the word ''anwylyd'' ("darling, loved one"), which is simply ''annwyl'' with the addition of the suffix -''yd''), or the common name

Ann Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

References

{{Given name, cat=Welsh feminine given names