Rowan/Roan - BOY
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Rowan/Roan - BOY
| Fri, 05-19-2006 - 8:25am |
I saw a poll on the other names board about Roan/Rowan on a boy, and I have become quite interested in it. What are everyone's thoughts on this name for a BOY? Which spelling is better- Rowan or Roan? And also, does anyone know anything about the meaning/origin? Any thoughts on this are appreciated!
Oh, and can it be a nn for anything?
Oh, and can it be a nn for anything?

According to my baby name book, Rowan is English and means: red haired, adorned.
Well, Rowan is my #1 name for a girl, but I like it quite a bit on a boy too. The origin is the Gaelic word ruadh which means "red" and the diminuative suffix "an", so it means "little red one". It can also be after the Rowan tree, which has been a popular subject of folklore and mythology for centuries.
Rowan is still much more popular with boys than girls, but it's not really "popular" with either. It's ranked 441 for boys and 766 for girls. It's been steadily growing each year for boys, but it only appeared on the charts in 2003 for girls, shot up for one year and is starting to fall again. Due to the origin ("little red one" could easily refer to a boy or a girl) and lack of popularity for either sex, I consider it very much a unisex name. It leans more toward the boys at the point, but I'm not sure if it will continue that way long term. I very much hope it doesn't grow much in popularity for either sex.
I prefer the Rowan spelling to Roan, but only just slightly. I think both are very nice. I also really love the similar-sounding Ronan, which means "little seal" from the