Today’s choice is a nature name with a distinctly Irish lilt.
Thanks to Kelly for suggesting Rowan as Name of the Day.
Like a handful of fashionable choices, Rowan appears to be truly gender neutral, possibly because there are two related backstories for the name, one of which leans feminine and the other, masculine.
Let’s start with the boys. Like Riley and Kennedy, Rowan has a long history of use as an Irish surname. The original would’ve been Ó Ruadháin, from ruadh – red – and related to a first name, Ruadán, born by a sixth century saint as well as a minor mythological figure.
Rooney was the more common Anglicization, but an impressive who’s who list of Rowans includes:
- The nineteenth century’s Archibald Hamilton Rowan inherited beaucoup bucks but ended up a radical anyhow, advocating for Irish liberty and the rights of the poor, in a media-friendly fashion. He once wielded a shillelagh in a Dublin dining club to make a point;
- Engineer-turned-philanthropist Henry Rowan. A New Jersey university is named in his honor;
- Civil War admiral Stephen Clegg Rowan;
- A smattering of actors, politicians, musicians, journalists and athletes.
As a given name, it is tough to find a Rowan of either gender before the 20th century.
Some parents might think of the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. But for many parents, Rowan is all about Mr. Bean. Actor Rowan Atkinson first rose to fame in the 1980s Britcom Blackadder, followed by the memorable, bumbling Bean.
As for girls, Rowan can be considered a botanical name, a possible successor to Laurel and Willow.
The rowan tree also owes its name to the color red, in this case via an Old Norse word referring to the tree’s berries.
But this is no mere botanical. Rowan trees were quite powerful, their wood capable of fending off witches and vampires and protecting houses, cattles and ships. Villagers examined the flowers and berries to augur everything from the next fall’s harvest to the number of weddings in the coming year.
Anne Rice’s 13th witch in her 1990 novel The Witching Hour is Rowan Mayfair. She’s the most powerful witch of a powerful clan.
But it wasn’t a literary witch or a comic genius that brought Rowan into greater use. In fact, it is difficult to determine why Rowan first charted in the US for boys in 1999. He fits right in with popular picks from the decade, and rose along with plenty of other Irish surnames that end-in-n.
And rise he has. In 1999, Rowan ranked #989 for boys. By 2008, he’d reached #340.
For girls, the name got a boost when actress Brooke Shields chose it for her firstborn daughter, Rowan Francis, in May 2003. That year Rowan entered the girls’ Top 1000 at #955 and climbed to #469 in 2008.
Chances are that we’ll continue to meet more Rowans, wearing both pink and blue. While conventional wisdom has long held that names adopted by girls quickly become off-limits for boys, that’s not necessarily true. In the era of Elijah and Sebastian, Rowan isn’t too soft for a boy. But with girls answering to Madison and Taylor, Rowan is a crisp and tailored choice for a girl, too.
In 1980 my Mum almost called me Rowan. I think she was attracted to the botanical aspect of the name for girls. I’m really glad she didn’t pick Rowan, as our last name was Atkinson – so that would have been awkward when the male Rowan Atkinson became so famous. I knew a Rowena when I was about 8 and I preferred that name, as it sounded more girly. And then I went on to name my daughter Rose, so I prefer that Ro- name for girls. And maybe Ronan for a boy.
I do prefer Rowan for a girl over Madison and Taylor etc. Though in general I prefer a name where the gender of the person is immediately clear.
I came across Rowanne listed as a spelling alternative for a girl in more than one place, including the venerable BehindtheName.com. But to me that’s kind of like Ryanne – it implies that the emphasis shifts to the second syllable. (ry AN, rhymes with Diane, rather than RY an, rhymes with Brian.)
This is interesting. I always thought that Rowan was a girl’s name. Then on Y!A all the “experts” maintain that it’s a boy’s name that’s crossing over. So I believed that. But I still think it’s a great romantic name for a girl. I’m happy to have read this post and see that it goes either way. However, I’d love to know why Brooke Sheilds’s daughter’s middle name is spelled with an I instead of an E. Were they actually hoping for a boy?
To be honest, I think “crossing over” is something of a myth. It’s just not all that clear that once a name is adopted for girls, it goes out of use for boys. But more on that in a future post.
And yeah, I do find the Francis spelling odd … not sure if she’s ever explained it. I love the combo, but I wish Francis was spelled with an e.
Brooke picked the middle name/spelling after her grandfather, who she was close to and I think I read that he died right before Rowan was born.
Thank you! And that does put the i/e choice in a different light. Not as if she owes me an explanation …
Just a thought, but the boys’ sound-alike Owen took off in the 90s (going from a rank in the 200s to solidly top 100). Perhaps parents were looking at -owen sounding names and found Rowan?
And the Sherlock Holmes deerstalker goes to JNE. I’ll bet you’re right about Owen/Rowan!
Love on a boy. Like on a girl. Reasons for use on both, although on a girl, I tend to think of the 70′s horror, The Wicker Man.
I have yet to run across a Kiwi female Rowan (that I can recall) but I’m sure it will happen. Peoples’ first associations tend to be more often than not, Mr Bean/Blackadder aka Rowan Atkinson.
It was also the name of my first guy I really liked in high school so there’s a sentimental quality there too.
I like Rohan more so I used that instead.
I love Rowan for a boy, I also really like Rohan, but like Rowan more for its tree associations. I must admit, that I do kinda like Rowan on a girl as well.
Well, I like Rowan on a girl for it’s my name.
It’s quite rare and that’s what I love about it. When I was younger I didn’t like it, but I’ve learned to see the beauty in it. It’s strength!
My daughter’s name is Rowan, and i have received many compliments on the name and have known two ladies to name their daughters the same after i introduced them.
My daughter’s name is Rowan Elizabeth and to me, it’s the most beautiful name!)
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Well, I love Rowan for boys, and I can try to be objective and see that it makes a nice name for girls too, but I admit Rowan on girls does bother me–it was my top boy choice for years (even my husband was on board with it–a rare feat!) but then it seemed to be crossing over and we didn’t feel we could use it for our son. I blame Brooke Shields and Anne Rice for sure! If I could be convinced it would remain well used for both sexes (like Morgan, Taylor, etc.) then we still may have used it for our son, but because of the way these things tend to go once they get picked up by girls, we did not feel confident about it. The fact that it is now essentially unisex in usage also made it feel more modern to me than it used to, which I did not like. We love the name we did choose, but I’m still mourning Rowan a bit too, as you can tell….
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