Unisex name ★ peaked 2025

Rowan

Gender Unisex · 31% girls Rank 2025 #59 Trend ↑ Rising 53%

Rowan is a traditionally masculine Irish given name and surname, now also in use as a given name for girls.

Rank 2025
#59
among boys · ↑12 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
6,452
named Rowan · +10% vs 2024
How common
1 in 328
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2025
6,452 babies
All-time total
72,853
#508 all-time among boys
First recorded
1916
in Social Security records

Rowan popularity over time

72,853 babies have been named Rowan since 1916, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – 18 18 2 – #3,649
1920s – 72 72 7 +300% #2,620
1930s – 72 72 7 0% #2,196
1940s 7 76 83 8 +15% #2,208
1950s – 77 77 8 -7% #2,354
1960s – 71 71 7 -8% #2,100
1970s 6 78 84 8 +18% #3,109
1980s 89 182 271 27 +223% #2,185
1990s 928 709 1,637 164 +504% #992
2000s 3,965 5,491 9,456 946 +478% #332
2010s 9,924 19,019 28,943 2,894 +206% #118
2020s (to 2025) 7,306 24,763 32,069 5,345 +85% #59

Where Rowan is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 5,600 3.28 #52
2027 5,951 3.48 #48
2028 6,268 3.67 #40
2029 6,550 3.83 #38
2030 6,800 3.98 #35

Where Rowan is most popular

Boys named Rowan per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.49 per 1,000. Strongest in Wyoming, Vermont, and Maine.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Rowan born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Wyoming 59 10.2 +310%
Vermont 58 9.24 +271%
Maine 147 7.58 +204%
Alaska 86 7.22 +190%
New Hampshire 157 7.07 +184%
Rhode Island 94 5.77 +132%
North Dakota 98 5.74 +131%
Montana 100 5.67 +128%
Oregon 389 5.12 +106%
West Virginia 157 4.81 +93%
Idaho 194 4.74 +90%
Utah 443 4.64 +86%
Colorado 589 4.56 +83%
South Dakota 84 4.51 +81%
Iowa 303 4.39 +76%
Kansas 281 4.10 +65%
Massachusetts 561 4.08 +64%
Washington 666 4.07 +63%
Arkansas 255 4.03 +62%
Delaware 61 4.02 +62%
Missouri 555 4.00 +61%
Ohio 1,042 3.93 +58%
Pennsylvania 1,041 3.92 +57%
Hawaii 60 3.86 +55%
Indiana 613 3.82 +54%
Minnesota 458 3.73 +50%
Tennessee 669 3.71 +49%
Michigan 754 3.68 +48%
Mississippi 208 3.66 +47%
Nebraska 157 3.61 +45%
Oklahoma 317 3.58 +44%
Wisconsin 421 3.55 +43%
Kentucky 352 3.51 +41%
Virginia 639 3.37 +35%
Connecticut 222 3.28 +32%
District of Columbia 48 3.25 +31%
South Carolina 331 3.20 +29%
Louisiana 327 3.20 +28%
Alabama 336 3.07 +23%
North Carolina 722 2.83 +14%
New Mexico 91 2.76 +11%
Maryland 317 2.66 +7%
Illinois 679 2.66 +7%
Nevada 145 2.54 ≈ national
Arizona 385 2.35 -5%
Georgia 572 2.26 -9%
Florida 978 2.07 -17%
New York 865 2.00 -20%
California 1,615 1.77 -29%
Texas 1,520 1.73 -31%
New Jersey 284 1.41 -43%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Rowan

Rowan is a top-100 name for boys in the United States, ranked #59 in 2025 with 5,212 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1916, 72,853 American babies have been named Rowan, about 69% boys and 31% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2025, when 6,452 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Rowan stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Rowan?

The median living Rowan is about 6 years old; half are between 3 and 12. An estimated 72 thousand people named Rowan are alive in the United States today.

median 6 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Rowan year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 1,240 #249 5,212 #59
2024 1,198 #266 4,667 #71
2023 1,288 #234 4,215 #76
2022 1,139 #277 3,763 #96
2021 1,262 #241 3,648 #105
2020 1,179 #255 3,258 #113
2019 1,353 #230 3,223 #118
2018 1,459 #212 3,041 #129
2017 1,448 #213 2,847 #140
2016 1,351 #240 2,194 #182
2015 989 #331 1,816 #219
2014 774 #413 1,548 #240
2013 714 #427 1,197 #292
2012 684 #454 1,151 #300
2011 544 #534 1,047 #309
2010 608 #493 955 #328
2009 616 #497 958 #332
2008 676 #471 973 #339
2007 711 #453 869 #365
2006 452 #638 673 #424
2005 347 #766 603 #437
2004 379 #709 529 #477
2003 245 #957 328 #626
2002 207 #1,041 206 #818
2001 174 #1,180 197 #828
2000 158 #1,242 155 #972
1995 106 #1,500 64 #1,506
1990 5 #14,718 29 #2,419
1985 5 #12,042 20 #2,580
1980 8 #7,974 11 #3,800
1975 6 #8,775 9 #3,887
1970 – – – –
1965 – – 6 #3,860
1960 – – 5 #4,506
1955 – – 8 #3,165
1950 – – 9 #2,737
1945 – – 11 #2,223
1940 – – 5 #3,852
1935 – – 7 #3,207
1930 – – – –
1925 – – 8 #3,352
1920 – – 5 #4,853
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Rowan

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Rowan Atkinson Rowan Atkinson English actor, comedian, and writer (born 1955) Contemporary
  2. 2 Rowan Blanchard Rowan Blanchard American actress (born 2001) Contemporary
  3. 3 Rowan Williams Rowan Williams Archbishop of Canterbury from 2003 to 2012 b. 1950 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Rowan, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Rowan?

The median living Rowan is about 6 years old. Half of all living Rowans are between 3 and 12 years old.

How many people named Rowan are alive today?

An estimated 72 thousand people named Rowan are alive in the United States, based on 72,853 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Rowan mean?

Rowan is a traditionally masculine Irish given name and surname, now also in use as a given name for girls.

How popular is the name Rowan in 2025?

Rowan ranked #59 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 5,212 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Rowan?

72,853 babies have been named Rowan in the United States since 1916, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Rowan most popular?

Rowan peaked in 2025, when 6,452 newborns received the name.

Is Rowan a boy or girl name?

Rowan is used for both: about 31% of babies named Rowan have been girls and 69% boys.

Is the name Rowan rising or falling?

Rowan is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Rowan become more popular?

Rowan is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 6,800 boys named Rowan in 2030, which would rank around #35. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Rowan?

Well-known people named Rowan include Rowan Atkinson (actor), Rowan Blanchard (actor), Rowan Williams (religious figure).

Names like Rowan

Names that sound and feel close to Rowan: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Rowan with similar names → More names starting with R →