| ![Show Contents]() Offen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
A product of the ancient Brythonic Celts of Wales, the name Offen, is from the Welsh personal name Owen or Owain. The Old Welsh forms of this name were Ouen and Ouein and were borrowed from the Latin name Eugenius. This is in turn derived from the Greek name Eugenios, which means well-born or noble. The name was recorded in Wales as early as 926 AD, when Uwen Wenta Cyning was noted. Early Origins of the Offen familyThe surname Offen was first found in Montgomeryshire (Welsh: Sir Drefaldwyn), located in mid-Eastern Wales, one of thirteen historic counties, and anciently the medieval kingdom of Powys Wenwynwyn, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D. From these early beginnings, the family reached throughout early England. "George Welsh Owen, Esq. of Tiverton in Devonshire, is impropriator of the great and small tithes, both of the [parish of Egloskerry] and Tremaine, [Cornwall] which belonged formerly to the priory of Launceston. In Egloskerry there are several estates, by which no small tithes are paid. From the tithes of this parish the sum of £5 per annum is paid to the incumbent curate, and sixteen shillings to the Prince of Wales's audit." 1 Early History of the Offen familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Offen research. Another 127 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1169, 1600, 1608, 1616, 1622, 1624, 1639, 1640, 1645, 1647, 1659, 1661, 1664, 1666, 1676, 1678, 1679, 1683, 1692, 1698, 1700 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Offen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Offen Spelling VariationsThe Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. It was up to the priest or the scribe taking the official records to determine how the spoken name was to be made literal. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg. Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Offen have included Owen, Owens, MacOwen, Owenson, Owenby, Ownby and others. Early Notables of the Offen familyProminent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was Thomas Owen (died 1661), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1624 and 1640, supporter of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War; Sir John Owen (1600-1666), a Welsh Royalist officer during the English Civil War; John Owen (1616-1683), an English Nonconformist church leader, theologian and administrator at the University of Oxford; Arthur Owen (ca.1608-1678), a Welsh politician who sat in...
Another 75 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Offen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.  Migration of the Offen family to Ireland
Some of the Offen family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Offen migration to the United States | + |
Many Welsh families joined their Scottish and Irish neighbors during the late 1800s and early 1900s in seeking refuge in North America. Like the Irish and Scottish, many Welsh anxiously awaited the work, freedom, and opportunities that they believed lay in North America. Those who did journey over to the United States and what became known as Canada often realized those dreams, but only through much toil and perseverance. Whenever and however these Welsh immigrants arrived in North America, they were instrumental in the creation of the industry, commerce, and cultural heritage within those two developing nations. In the immigration and passenger lists a number of early immigrants bearing the name Offen were found:
Offen Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Van Offen, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1793 2
- Christoffer Offen, aged 49, who arrived in Louisiana in 1797 2
- Christoffer Offen, who arrived in Louisiana in 1797
Offen Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Charles Offen, who settled in New York, NY in 1824
- Abraham Offen, who arrived in New York in 1837
| Contemporary Notables of the name Offen (post 1700) | + |
- Ronald C. "Ron" Offen (1930-2010), American poet, playwright, critic, editor, and theater producer
| Historic Events for the Offen family | + |
- Mr. Richard Offen, British Assistant Steward, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and died in the sinking 3
- Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
- HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
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Offen migration to the United States 
Germany
Wales
Ireland
