See the results of this poll: If you had to choose, which is your favorite of these?
Respondents: 59 (This poll is closed)
- Elowen : 33 (56%)
- Eowyn : 9 (15%)
- Eirwen : 4 (7%)
- Anwen: 13 (22%)
[name_f]Anwen[/name_f] is a huge favourite of mine! It’s wonderfully sweet, spunky and simple. [name_m]Just[/name_m] lovely.
However, it’s properly pronounced with a short A sound: AN-wen. I don’t like the long A pronunciation nearly so much, and it seems like an unnecessary complication to use a non-standard pronunciation.
I also really like [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] (eh-LOW-en) and Eirwen. [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f] is too fantasy for me, but honestly it sounds like it’s your favourite by a mile and I don’t think any of the reasons you cite are dealbreakers. LOTR is a classic of the genre; it’s not like you’re choosing a name from Fifty Shades or anything potentially embarrassing. I’d go for it!
In terms of other suggestions, [name_f]Arwen[/name_f] feels slightly more usable to me personally as LOTR names go, but I imagine you’ve already considered and dismissed it. I also love [name_f]Arianwen[/name_f], but I’m guessing it’s a tad elaborate for your tastes?
I love your choices! It’s hard to pick just one, but I think I like [name_f]Anwen[/name_f] the best. What about [name_f]Arwen[/name_f]?
Thanks @katinka! [name_f]Anwen[/name_f] is lovely isn’t it? I understand what you’re saying about pronunciation. I just feel like An-wen sounds a little clunky to my ear. It makes me feel like it’s part of a sentence “An’ when…?” (“and when”) or worse, when using short syllables like that, in my accent An-wen comes out sounding scarily close to “onion” when said quickly. sigh. That’s really the only thing that keeps me from using this name, I want to love it so bad but my stupid accent makes it weird. But I wouldn’t want to use “Ahn-wen” if that is an incorrect pronunciation so I may have to cross this one off the list (at least for first names).
Haha true! I feel Lotr is more in-line with [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m] (who similarly made up many names we now think of as normal, like [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] and [name_f]Miranda[/name_f]) than Fifty Shades or something :P.
I love [name_f]Arianwen[/name_f] too! (The NN [name_u]Ari[/name_u] is adorable). It’s actually on my list but you’re right, I do wonder if it’s a bit over-elaborate. I usually don’t gravitate to names longer than 3 syllables, but I really want to love this name. It’s potential for cute nicknames ([name_u]Ari[/name_u], [name_f]Annie[/name_f], Wen/na, [name_f]Aria[/name_f]) definitely make it more usable. 
@katinka + @thefairophelia Yes I do love [name_f]Arwen[/name_f], it is so simple and graceful - however I feel like it is more of a household LOTR name if that makes sense (even though it is an established, real name in it’s own right in [name_m]Wales[/name_m]). Whereas I feel few people who don’t already love LOTR would know who [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f] is off the bat - last time I watched the films I realized you barely even hear her name and when you do it’s so softly spoken it’s easy to miss.
I love them all but [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] is one of my absolute favourite names!
Torn between [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] and [name_f]Anwen[/name_f]
[name_f]Eowyn[/name_f]
[name_f]Lovely[/name_f]
I love both [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] and [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f]! I adore the [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f] character from LOTR, but more than that I genuinely think the name is aesthetically gorgeous. I like [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] for the elegant sound and meaning (I pronounce it [name_f]ELL[/name_f]-oh-win). I personally like this spelling better than the Elowyn alternative.
I’m a little confused on how to pronounce Eirwen. I would guess either “air-wen” or “ire-wen” which don’t seem to be correct? I’m American so that may be messing with my ability to say it right. I also have the same issue with [name_f]Anwen[/name_f]. I’m caught between “[name_f]ANNE[/name_f]-wen” and “AHN-wen.”
I think you have a valid concern about using [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f] as a first name regarding whether people would be judgmental about it. I took it off my own list for that reason honestly, because I worried that people wouldn’t take her seriously because of it. It’s a tough call. The name is beautiful, but someone who disagrees may only think of it as a “nerdy” pop culture reference. I struggle with with this issue a lot with names in general, and I’m still not sure where I fall on the spectrum. On the one hand, I want to believe that your personal feelings about the name are all that matter. But on the other hand, I have to reckon with the reality that this girl will encounter millions of people in her life and I am not the center of her reality, so how will this name affect her in the grand scheme of things? (For the record, if I met someone named [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f] I’d instantly want to befriend her, but that also points to how intense the association between the character and the name is.)
With all that said, I think [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] is “safer,” but either way, you can’t go wrong!
You’ve got such gorgeous and interesting names on your list!
[name_f]Elowen[/name_f] is so beautiful, and definitely my favourite of the four. It feels like a girl in a story dancing around in an enchanted woodland, braids flying, catching butterflies. I would definitely pronounce it ell-OH-wen. From what I’ve seen, a lot of people with commonly mispronounced names don’t mind, they just go with it and don’t bother correcting everyone. If you know it would bother you that some people pronounce it [name_f]ELL[/name_f]-oh-wen though, maybe it’s not the right choice for you.
The way you talk about [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f], it sounds like you’re more convinced on that one than any of the others! Having seen the LOTR films, I definitely think it’s a strong association, but I don’t think she’s commonly known enough as a character for people who haven’t seen them to know it. I feel like it’s the kind of association where people would either go “cool, [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f] like in LOTR?” or they wouldn’t pick up on it. She’s a pretty hard character to dislike, and I think there’s definitely a difference between an association with a character or real person that’s popular/likeable and one who isn’t.
I’m not really a fan of the way Eirwen looks spelt out. The “eir” is a bit clunky to me. It does sound like a good alternative to [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f] for you, if that’s what you’re looking for. I’m not sure how commonly known it is though, even in [name_m]Wales[/name_m] - you might want to ask a few Welsh people about that before you use it, if you’re hoping for a name most people can spell/pronounce! I live in [name_f]England[/name_f] and haven’t come across the name before, but it might be different in [name_m]Wales[/name_m].
[name_f]Anwen[/name_f] is really pretty, but I do think you would have to pronounce it ann-wen, pronouncing it ahn-wen just seems confusing.
I love [name_f]Arwen[/name_f] too, and think she’s a fabulous character, so would be so excited if I met a real-life [name_f]Arwen[/name_f]! Though I actually loved the name before seeing the films.
I voted for [name_f]Anwen[/name_f]. I love the quiet strength it has and it feels modern but also has a fantasy vibe too. My second favorite is [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f], and it seems like it’s your favorite!
I also like [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] but I don’t like the way you’d pronounce it. I’d instinctively say it [name_f]ELL[/name_f]-oh-wen and I don’t really like it the other way. [name_m]Just[/name_m] my opinion though.
I voted for [name_f]Anwen[/name_f]. I think its pronunciation is the most intuitive, so there would probably be fewer issues on that front. I also can’t think of anything inherently teasable about it. I’m personally not so keen on Eirwen or [name_f]Elowen[/name_f], and although I love [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f] for its Old English roots, I’ve always found the pronunciation to trip people up. The Tolkien connection is also definitely something to consider, although it’s certainly not a negative association.
[name_f]Eowyn[/name_f] is my favorite, [name_f]Anwen[/name_f] a close second. I personally love LOTR and feel, as others have noted, that not many would recognize it unless they are LOTR fans. Especially considering all of the other names you mentioned getting more name potential attention. [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f] is a great literature character to share a name with! Not to mention as much as I like them the other two ([name_f]Elowen[/name_f] and Eirwen) are a little more of a mouth full and more made up sounding to me than [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f] and [name_f]Anwen[/name_f].
Beautiful names and any of them will be perfect on a little girl!