Rowan

[ess-muss-sein.livejournal.com]

After a lot of deliberation my husband and I decided on the name Rowan for a boy. I mentioned it to someone and they told me they thought it was a girls name. Just googling around it doesn't seem like any Rowan's are female. Do you guys get the impression that Rowan is a girls name?

I'm also deliberating on the spelling of the name. I like 'Roan' but my husband thinks it's too confusing for pronunciation as it can be pronounced like 'RoAN' or just like 'Rone'. The name could also be spelled as Rohan or Rowen.


Thoughts? Opinions? Thanks!

Comments

[harinakshi.livejournal.com]

I knew the name sounded familiar. And yea, when I heard the name on her daughter I thought it was a boy name and ugly because it was on a girl.

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

I pronounce it Ro-wan, it would never occur to me to say Rone.
Unfortunately, I can only think of Rowan Atkinson aka Mr.Bean and also Ronan Keating. Really not feminine to me.

Rowena, on the other hand..

[chirpygirly.livejournal.com]

Rowan is masculine to me.
I don't like it. Just sounds like slang for rowing, as in "row'in ma boat".

I think Ronan/Ronin is better. JMO.

[perchedoutside.livejournal.com]

I think it's masculine and I loved the name at first until I said it for a while and really thought about it. Now I have a 2.5 year old named Ronin, lol.

[perchedoutside.livejournal.com]

And if you do pick the name Rowan, I would definitely leave it spelled that way. I don't care for the other spellings you mentioned. Just my 2 cents!

[sing4th.livejournal.com]

The only Rowan I know is a little girl.

I am not a fan - like someone else said, it seems like rowin', row row rowin your boat.

[mynamewastaken.livejournal.com]

I definitely consider it a masculine name.

[morphinae.livejournal.com]

My 17 month old son is named Rowan, so I think it's very boy :) Seeing it on a girl is ridiculous to me, they might as well have named her John.

I pronounce it Row-in.

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

I love Rowan for a boy! Rohan is way too geeky in my opinion but I pronounce it like "row-en."

I prefer the spelling of Rowan. And I definitely see it as a boy's name. Rowena is the feminine version.

[kort-ni.livejournal.com]

Rowan to me is a girl's name but only because the only place I have seen it is in Anne Rice's Mayfair series and the main character is a woman named Rowan. So I automatically think woman but the name does have some masculine character.

I pronounce Roan like Rone and Rohan like Row-han

[aprettybinding.livejournal.com]

I knew of rowan from a few different books as a girls name, and so did my girlfriend [from different books] and so we named our girl dog that. I didn't know it was a boys name till recently.
And we pronounce it Ro-wan, never heard it as Roan/Rone.

[mommyaubrey.livejournal.com]

i love the name, but spelled Rowen, but thats just because thats how i'm used to it, and i think the 'e' makes it a bit more masculine, and less confusing, although i don't see it on a girl at all. and i say it Row-en

[spaceandclouds.livejournal.com]

The only Rowan I've ever met was a girl, but I can definitely see it on a boy as well. It's one of those rare truly unisex names to me.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

I like Rowan for a boy. I think it's okay as a girl's name, but it seems more masculine to me. I would go with the original spelling. If you spell it 'Rohan' people will pronounce it 'ROW-hawn' like the place in Lord of the Rings.

[schexyschteve.livejournal.com]

I've only ever heard of Rowan on girls (Brooke Shield's daughter, for example), but I don't think it sounds feminine at all. I agree with others; it sounds like "rowin' my boat" or something. Very much a verb.

I'd spell it either Rowan or Rowen.

[rowan-belle.livejournal.com]

I love love LOVE this name on a girl. It's what I want to name my first daughter. Funnily enough though, the only Rowan I've ever met in real life was a boy. As much as I love it on a girl, I've always thought it was originally a boy's name, and sounds perfectly fine on a boy. With the Roan spelling I, personally, would pronounce it 'RONE.'

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

I LOVE Rowan. Definitely that spelling; I would absolutely pronounce Roan to rhyme with bone, and while that actually has its charm, that's not what you're going for, so definitely Rowan. Rohan is pronounced RO-hahn, as in Lord of the Rings. Also not a bad name, but not the name you're going for. Rowen seems to make it more feminine and also just seems pointless, why not use Rowan and keep the nature connection?

As for it being used on girls, it is sometimes. Rowan is one of the few truly unisex names left. But it's not used for either sex often enough to worry about it, imo, and I think it does "lean boy."

Rowan is such a fantastic choice! I salute your taste!

[pianokitten.livejournal.com]

I've met female "Rowan"s and male alike, I'd say it's a unisex name, like Morgan.

I also love Roan, but I believe it to be an Irish name with an Irish pronunciation... reminds me of the movie "The Secret of Roan Innish"... if you haven't seen it, it's really cute!! :)

[bandnerd88.livejournal.com]

Rowan is my favorite boys' name, so it's definitely masculine to me. I think it's really ugly on a girl.

My boyfriend knew a girl named Roan, pronounced like Rowan. It never made sense to me. I would automatically pronounce it to rhyme with bone.

[monkey-fruit.livejournal.com]

It's a boys' name. No good on a girl, imo.
I like the spelling Rowan.

[murderprotocol.livejournal.com]

I don't mind Rowan on a girl, but I probably wouldn't ever use it. And my sister went to school with a girl called Ro-An (I think that's how it's spelt) who pronounces it ROW-ann. So I'd probably stick with the Rowan spelling.

[penguiny7.livejournal.com]

Rowan is very nice and seems more masculine to me, but it can be unisex since it's a tree name. Roan has a nice sound, but I think it's a little weird to be named a random hair color. I don't see how there could be a pronunciation issue with it though... the word is pronounced ROHN. Rohan is very LotR and I'd pronounce it ROH-hahn, so different than Rowan/Rowen or Roan. Please no Rowen though. If anything bothers me than a name spelled wrong, it's a word name spelled wrong. Oh, and for a girl I'd rather see Rowena.

[laura-anne.livejournal.com]

Definitely a boys name, and I prefer the spelling Rowan. I just don't particularly like Rowen, and Roan and Rohan aren't pronounced the same as Rowan for me.

[rubytitania.livejournal.com]

I think it's totally unisex. I've known and heard of both male and female Rowans. I personally prefer it for a girl, but I think it's a nice name for either sex.

[misstherestofme.livejournal.com]

R-O-W-A-N Rowan is my favorite (traditionally masculine) name EVER. I whole heartedly believe that you should go for it!

[harri-cady.livejournal.com]

DH's cousin have a baby girl named Rowan. I think it works either way.

[chillinbabejodi.livejournal.com]

Rowen makes me think of Rowen Atkinson, therefore is definately a male name. It's not particularly my style, but I definately prefer the Rowan spelling to any of the variations.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

my cousins son is named rowan. i like it quite a lot, and i think you should stick with that spelling.

i know a teenager named rohan (his parents are from india, i believe) and it is pronounced ro-hahn.

[solitudete.livejournal.com]

I love Rowan for a boy- it bothers me that people are using it for girls more often. I prefer Rowan over Rowen.

[tiphanism.livejournal.com]

My first thought was the Archbishop of Canterbury, so it has a good precedent as a male name. I love it.

Rohan is a bit geeky to me and also I think most people would pronounce the h. Roan is a colour. I'd stick with Rowan, like the tree.

[taleofaredhead.livejournal.com]

It's masculine in my mind, although not by much.

Roan (pronounced 'rone') is a color that horses can be. In fact, I would probably snicker a little if I heard a child named Roan because I'd assume the child's parents didn't know it was a "color". Kind of like naming a kid "brown" or something.

[ifancylust.livejournal.com]

i like it and think it's acceptable for a boy OR a girl. i'd go with rowan or rowen though. roan would be really confusing and i think everyone would pronounce it as one syllable so it'd rhyme with "stone"

[halloween13.livejournal.com]

Our friend has a son named Rowan so I have seen it used as a boy's name before. In his case it is Rowan Alexander.