Rowan

Did you know?

A few things about Rowan you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Rowan

Rowan Atkinson

English actor, comedian, and screenwriter (born 1955)

Choose Rowan and your child shares a first name with Rowan Atkinson, an English actor, comedian, and screenwriter. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Rowan, like who?” Rowan Atkinson's Wikipedia article is available in 121 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Rowan Atkinson on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 328 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Rowan, 5,212 babies in all. In a school of 500 kids, there'd probably be one other Rowan.
• 📜HistoryRowan first shows up in US birth records in 1916, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 109 years since.
• 🏆Best yearRowan is at its all-time high right now: #59 in 2025.
• 📈Then vs nowRowan is 39× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 12,674 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 328.
• 🚀TrendRowan has climbed 54 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #59. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedRowan is most popular in Wyoming, where it ranks #5, followed by Colorado (#22) and Maine (#23). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• ⚖️Boy or girlRowan is given to both boys and girls: 81% of the 6,452 babies named Rowan in 2025 were boys. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.
• 💬MeaningIn Irish, Rowan means “little red-haired one”. Our records link it to Celtic, English and Welsh roots.
• 🌍OriginRowan is the #4 most popular Celtic boy name in the US. That's out of 542 Celtic boy and unisex names in our list.

About the name Rowan

Rowan is a gender-neutral name of Celtic, English and Welsh origin meaning “little red-haired one”. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with R and ending in “-wan”. US birth records list Rowan for boys from 1916 to 2025, in 103 of those 110 years. Its best year was 2025, when it ranked #59 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #59, with 5,212 babies. Of the 6,452 US babies named Rowan in 2025, 19% were girls and 81% were boys.

Origin:Celtic namesEnglish namesWelsh names