Where the Owens name comes from

Owens carries two separate origins, one Welsh and one Irish. The Welsh line runs from ab Owain, meaning son of Owen, joined to the English patronymic -s. Owen itself means noble. The Irish line comes instead from the Gaelic surname Mac Eoghain.

In English the surname formed straightforwardly from the given name Owen plus the patronymic suffix -s. Owings survives as an alternative form of the same name.