Rowan () is a traditionally masculine
Irish given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...
and
surname
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
, now also in use as a given name for girls. Variants of the name include
Roan,
Rohan, ''Ruadhán'', and ''Ruadh''. The name comes from the Irish surname ''Ó Ruadháin''
and from the word
ruadh, meaning "red-haired" or "rusty." When used as a feminine name, it is often in reference to the
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...
, the name of which has Scandinavian origins. It is also an Arabic feminine name (روان) referring to a river in Paradise.
The name shares the same roots as the names
Raya,
Rana,
Rania and
Rayan.
Notable people with the name include:
Surname
*
Andrew Summers Rowan (1857–1943), American army officer
*
Archibald Hamilton Rowan (1751–1834), Irish celebrity and founding member of The Dublin Society of United Irishmen
*
Athol Rowan (1921–1998), South African cricketer
*
Barbara Ann Rowan (1938–2020), American attorney
*
Carl Rowan (1925–2000), American journalist and author
*
Chad Rowan (1969–2024), ''Akebono'', Hawaiian sumo wrestler
*
Sir Charles Rowan ( – 1852), officer in the British Army and Commissioner of Police of the (London) Metropolis
*
Dan Rowan (1922–1987), American actor and comedian, ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In''
*
Dave Rowan (1882–1955), Canadian baseball player
*
Dawn Rowan (born 1946), Australian therapist
*
Dominic Rowan (born 1970), English actor
*
Ellis Rowan (1847–1922), Australian naturalist and illustrator
*
Eric Rowan (1909–1993), South African cricketer
*
Erick Rowan (born 1981), ring name of American wrestler Joseph Rudd
*
Ev Rowan (1902–1956), American football player
*
Ford Rowan, American television reporter, and panelist on ''Meet the Press''
*
George Rowan, Scottish footballer
*
Henry Rowan (1923–2015), American philanthropist and engineer, namesake of Rowan University
*
Jenny Rowan (born 1949), New Zealand politician
*
John Rowan (disambiguation), several people
*
Jonathan Rowan (born 1981), English footballer
*
Joseph Rowan (1870–1930), American politician from New York
*
Kelly Rowan (born 1965), Canadian actress and model
*
Leslie Rowan (1908–1972), British civil servant and industrialist
*
Levi J. Rowan (1871–1934) American academic administrator, college president, teacher, and photographer
*
Lou Rowan (1925–2017), Australian cricket umpire
*
Louis R. Rowan (1911–1988), American businessman and racehorse owner and breeder
*
Matthew Rowan (died 1769), American politician from North Carolina
*
Peter Rowan (born 1942), American bluegrass musician and composer
*
Ron Rowan (born 1962), American basketball player
*
Sheila Rowan (physicist) (born 1969), British physicist
*
Stephen Clegg Rowan (1808–1890), American vice admiral
*
William Rowan (1789–1879), British military commander
Given name
*
Saint Rowan, Irish 6th century abbot, one of the Apostles of Ireland
*
Rowan Alexander, Scottish football player and manager
*
Rowan Atkinson (born 1955), English actor, comedian, and screenwriter
*
Rowan Barrett (born 1972), Canadian basketball player
*
Rowan Bettjeman, New Zealander YouTuber, actor, director, and producer
*
Rowan Blanchard
Rowan Blanchard (born October 14, 2001) is an American actress. She began acting as a child and starred in the action film ''Spy Kids: All the Time in the World'' (2011). She gained wide recognition for playing List of Girl Meets World characte ...
(born 2001), American actress
*
Rowan Bowles, Australian handbike cyclist
*
Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, American writer
*
Rowan Crothers (born 1997), Australian swimmer
*
Rowan Cronjé (1937–2014), Rhodesian politician
*
Rowan Deacon, English director and filmmaker
*
Rowan Ellis, British YouTuber and author
*
Rowan Pelling (born 1968), British editor and columnist
*
Rowan Vine (born 1982), English footballer
*
Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet, who served as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002 to 2012. Previously the Bishop of Monmouth and Archbishop of W ...
(born 1950), Archbishop of Canterbury
*
Rowan Woods, Australian film director
*
William Rowan Hamilton
Sir William Rowan Hamilton (4 August 1805 – 2 September 1865) was an Irish astronomer, mathematician, and physicist who made numerous major contributions to abstract algebra, classical mechanics, and optics. His theoretical works and mathema ...
(1805–1865), Irish mathematician
Fictional characters
* Rowan, one of the two main protagonists in ''
Fire Emblem Warriors
''Fire Emblem Warriors'' is a hack and slash action role-playing game developed by Omega Force and Team Ninja, and published by Koei Tecmo in Japan and Nintendo internationally for the Nintendo Switch and New Nintendo 3DS. The game was released i ...
''
* Rowan, the main character in Emily Rodda's ''
Rowan of Rin'' fantasy books
* Rowan Damisch, one of the two main characters in the novel
''Scythe''
* Rowan Khanna, in the mobile game ''
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery''
* Rowan LaFontaine, in the film ''
Jason X''
* Rowan Mayfair, in the ''
Lives of the Mayfair Witches'' trilogy by Anne Rice
* Rowan Mills, in NBC's ''
The Blacklist
''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series created by Jon Bokenkamp and developed by John Eisendrath. It stars James Spader as Raymond Reddington, an international criminal and one of the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives ...
''
* Rowan Morrison, in 1973 film ''
The Wicker Man''
* Rowan North, the main antagonist of the 2016
''Ghostbusters'' reboot
* Rowan Omondi, a main character in
Alice Oseman's ''I Was Born for This''
* Rowan Theirin (née Guerrin), in ''
Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne'' by David Gaider
* Rowan Whitethorn, in the ''
Throne of Glass'' book series by Sarah J. Maas
* Professor Rowan, in the ''
Pokémon
is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...
'' franchise
* Lily Rowan, in the
Nero Wolfe franchise by Rex Stout
* Rosalie Rowan, in the
DC Animated Universe
The DC Animated Universe (DCAU, also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans) is a Shared universe, shared fictional universe based on DC Comics properties and media franchise produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It began with ''Batman ...
See also
*
Rawan (disambiguation)
References
{{given name, type=both
English unisex given names
English-language surnames
English-language unisex given names
Given names derived from colors
Given names derived from plants or flowers
Irish unisex given names
Surnames of Irish origin
Feminine given names
Masculine given names