Re: family name of:owen
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In reply to:
family name of:owen
jennifr bowen 7/01/01
Before the Welsh adopted the use of formal surnames a person was typically identified as (using traditional Welsh names) Dafydd ab Owen. The son of Dafydd would then be Gruffydd ap Dafydd. The ap (meaning "son of" typically came before a vowel beginning name like Owen. The ab usually came before a consonant beginning name like Dafydd. When the Welsh adopted surnames many times ab Owen became Bowen like you mention. Dafydd became anglicized to David and many adopted Davies as a surname. Gruffydd was similarly anglicized to Griffith.