See the results of this poll: Elowen pronounced EL-loh-wen:
Respondents: 104 (This poll is closed)
- EL-loh-wen is totally fine! : 91 (88%)
- It’s el-LOH-wen or nothing.: 13 (13%)
Usually, I’m a stickler for proper pronunciation, but in this case I do feel that majority of people in an English speaking context will say [name_f]ELL[/name_f] oh wen anyway. So, I’d say go for it.
Thanks @meili. I love your children’s names by the way, they’re divine!
I say E-LOW-en, but I’m a sucker for most things Cornish, which is the context in which I first saw it. I think [name_f]EL[/name_f]-loh-wen is the more instinctive pronunciation otherwise, though: you’d probably correct a lot less people just using that one.
You’re welcome and thank you! 
It’s hard to get used to it as [name_f]EL[/name_f]-oh-en after you know how it’s traditionally pronounced. It’s like if someone named [name_f]Amanda[/name_f] insisted it was pronounced AM-an-da. It’s probably true that most people won’t be familiar enough with it to cause confusion, but it is becoming more popular. If you’re open to being nontraditional with the name anyway, maybe a spelling like Ellowen would make that pronunciation clearer.
I agree that [name_f]EL[/name_f]-loh-wen would be more intuitive to people and, other than it sounds nicer to my ears, the fact that you wouldn’t have to correct people as often is very appealing!
I love your username! I was thinking about [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] Meraud as a combo this morning. Although, wherever I saw the name said it was pronounced meh-ROW (which I love), but I see Nameberry says it’s pronounced MEH-rod. I’m sure you know which one is correct!
I only found out about the proper pronunciation a while back and I still pronounce it [name_f]EL[/name_f]-o-wen as it comes the most natural to me; el-LOW-wen sounds off to me, like you’re actively trying to force a special pronunciation (even though in this case it is the correct one).
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I totally appreciate what you’re saying, but it’s not trying to change [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] or [name_f]Sophia[/name_f]. It’s an unusual name that’s probably not heard very often outside of namenerd communities (and Cornwall)!
If I imagine a new teacher seeing the name [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] on paper and calling her name out for the first time, I think it’s more likely you would have to correct them and say “actually, it’s eh-LOH-wen” than you would the other way around. For any English speaker who isn’t familiar with Cornish pronunciation, [name_f]EL[/name_f]-loh-wen is the intuitive way to say it.
I’m glad so many people are in agreement that [name_f]EL[/name_f]-loh-wen is okay. Thanks to everyone who has voted so far.
Couldn’t agree with you more. I’ve tried saying el-LOW-wen out loud a few times today and it just feels unnatural to me. It doesn’t roll off the tongue in the same way that [name_f]EL[/name_f]-o-wen does.
Sorry, I’ll be that someone who says that if you’re not going to pronounce it el-LOW-wen, you should pick a different name. I’m a bit of a stickler for pronouncing names correctly though (though sometimes people just don’t know they’re saying it wrong, which is different from deliberately choosing to), unless there’s genuinely more than one correct pronunciation like how [name_f]Violet[/name_f] can be vy-let, vy-uh-let or vy-oh-let.
What about [name_u]Eloise[/name_u] or [name_f]Endellion[/name_f]? They have similar sounds to the pronunciation of [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] that you like.
I’ve always pronounced it [name_f]EL[/name_f]-loh-wen and I think most English-speaking people will pronounce it that way
I didn’t even realize the traditional pronunciation is [name_f]El[/name_f]-LOH-wen. I always say [name_f]ELowen[/name_f].
I have always pronounced it [name_f]EL[/name_f]-loh-wen, so I voted for that.
I adore the name [name_f]Elowen[/name_f], and I 100% support using it the way you want to with the [name_f]EL[/name_f]-ow-en pronunciation! [name_m]How[/name_m] many people will you ever encounter who are Cornish (and would also care)? Because 99.99999% of the people you will meet in your life have no idea that the name [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] is Cornish or is originally/culturally pronounced differently. I’m sure the el-LOW-en pronunciation makes sense in another cultural context, but it just doesn’t in yours or mine, since it clearly looks like [name_f]EL[/name_f]-ow-en to us. So who cares?
If it ever comes up you can always just say “yeah, it’s not the original pronunciation, but this is how we pronounce it because it’s how we like it. End of story.” Another thing to consider is that since this name is starting to get traction (mostly on naming sites for now), the new pronunciation will become more common anyway, and will be just like the other names in the world that are pronounced differently depending on the person–someone had to start those too, right?
P.S. @minxtruck, I love your [name_f]Daenerys[/name_f] avatar 
I pronounce [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] eh-low-en. Or sometimes I pronounce it [name_f]Elle[/name_f]-oh-en. It’s one of those names where I love either pronounciation.
It’s very similar to say… [name_f]Brianna[/name_f] for me. [name_f]Brianna[/name_f] could be [name_f]Bri[/name_f]-aw-nuh or [name_f]Bri[/name_f]-an-uh and both are perfectly fine.
For me it’s kind of in between those two, the emphasis being about equal (“me-row” is the best I can do). I’m American, though, and I’ve never met anyone else with the name, so I’m not really an expert 
I don’t understand why people get up in arms over this name in particular. The pronunciation is beautiful either way, and while the original rhythm makes sense when speaking Cornish, it is not intuitive in modern English. The [name_f]ELL[/name_f]-oh-wen version feels similar to [name_f]Gwendolen[/name_f] and [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u], and I think it just makes more sense to speak in a way that is comfortable instead of forcing an accent that you don’t have. It’s like if I said “MOOH-tza-day-luh” instead of “mots-uh-RELL-uh” for mozzarella, even though I’m not Italian and don’t speak Italian. I don’t see it as disrespectful, it’s just your accent.
I always say eh-LOH-wen, but if you prefer the other way, then that’s fine!
I think [name_f]El[/name_f]-LOW-en is prettier, but in the end, it’s up to you. If you prefer it the other way, then go for it.