Rowan

Kate0034

Warning: kind of long-winded 

My due date is in 6 weeks and I'm struggling (ummm stressing) over a name for our baby boy. DH's first name is William and we always assumed we would name our first boy William and call him Liam. We both have Irish backgrounds so the nickname seemed perfect. However, over the last two years I've become disillusioned with the name because it grew to be so popular, and I now feel like it's sort of lumped in with the trendy "end-of-name nicknames" like Zander, Topher, etc.

After ruling out Liam, we figured we'd stick with William and just call him that (or Will). But, I can't get over wanting a name of Celtic origin. We are both really into Celtic culture and like I said, it's both of our family backgrounds. My husband goes by his Irish middle name and that also makes me want to keep the Celtic names going.

Now we're thinking about choosing a Celtic MN and calling him by that. (I know many people dislike calling by MNs but it's sort of a tradition in DH's family and he likes it). I've loved the name Rowan for a few years now--love the way it sounds and the nickname Rowe. Also love that it's a tree (we're big time nature people) and has a lot of folklore surrounding it... love that it's thought of as a protector (goes well with the meaning of William-- warrior/protector). 

Here are my reservations about it:

1. Fear that it will become trendy soon, as Celtic names and surnames are both popular right now. But then again I guess that could happen with ANY Celtic name, and part of me wants to say screw it anyway since we're *actually* from Irish/Scottish families.

2. Fear that it will become more of a girl's name. Again, this could probably happen with anything (since now people name girls Ryan, Blake, and James for crying out loud) but then again, with Rowan being associated with either a surname or a tree, it does lend itself to a more unisex feeling and I could see it going more to girls. I'm just trying to figure out if this is even a big deal to me or not, or if it should be. I personally like it better for a boy and would love it see it stay strong as a boy's name.

Any thoughts? Other suggestions are welcome as well.  

bbiutmcph

Love Rowan and prefer it over William. I would always assume male upon hearing it.

Bringmemylongswordho

So, number wise it's still a "boy" name.

I think if you love it, you should use it. If people stop using masculine names because some people give their daughters masculine names,  we're going to have like, 10 masculine names left.  

PJpeppercorn

I love Rowan and it's on my list. I personally only know one Rowan, who is a little girl. I do think it might be trending girl but I'm not too concerned with this. I just think it's a name that people are not as familiar with and don't know if it's a traditional boy or girl name (like you would with a James or Ryan) I do think it is far more interesting than William-- but William is also a strong choice! 

holli0801

Love Rowan. I wouldn't be too concerned about popularity or it becoming "unisex" 

libby+nate

I like both! I will say I know three Rowan's (2 boys and 1 girl) and haven't been around a Liam in a long time. I wouldn't rule out Liam because of popularity, because I think Rowan will get there. BUT if you just prefer Rowan than go with it! It's a nice name! You can't go wrong. I wouldn't use William Rowan, because I think it's a toungue twister

TNgoldengirl

If you love Rowan, I think that's a great choice! I personally don't know any kids, boy or girl, named Rowan but I think it's masculine and not a reason to nix it. 

KaLikeAWind

Rowan was my 'compromise' name, and was within a hair of being the name for my son (my DH had not initially liked the name I suggested until day of at the hospital, which is what we went with). I actually had become attached to it, and was a little bummed I didn't get to use it (at the time). I was also really into the name for the very reasons you are (meaning, nature, tree)

So, obviously, love the name. Think its masculine. And am irritated about it being used on girls. I was also worried that a girl would have the name a year or two before him in school, and thus he would be teased for 'having a girls name', but decided to use it anyway (before my DH surprised me with the ok on my other name choice) because like @bringmemylongswordho said - if we don't claim these boy names for boys, there won't be any left.

The odds are extremely unlikely I'll have more children, but if I do, and its a boy, I intend to choose Rowan.

I say go for it

yellowbean15

I have a boy Rowan so obviously I love it and think you should use it! It's such a great name.

I think it might get more popular, but I don't think it will ever be Liam popular, or even close. I was also worried about its use on girls and we did end up meeting an older girl in town named Rowan. It bothered me at first but now I don't care. He's a boy and people will get used to it as a boy name as they get to know him. 

KStar21

I think Rowan is a great choice! It's still more common for boys, and even if he did meet a few girls with the name I don't think it would be a big deal (especially considering how many names are being used both ways these days).

lm45678

I love Rowan and would recommend naming him Rowan William if naming him after your husband was what you had always planned on

If our LO is a boy he will be William and I struggle with the nicknames/popularity too. However, it is such a classic name and has family significance so I don't let it bother me too much.

Starlight32

I like both Liam and Rowan (for a boy)

penelope4612

So do you want to name him William Rowan or Rowan William?  I like William Rowan better personally.  Rowan is all boy to me, but at least if he ends up with 5 female Rowans in his class he can go by William.

Latina211508

I really like Rowan. I think it's cute. 

TheHauntedHauswife

I think you are good to go on Rowan! Even if those trends DO happen, i think you would theoretically be ahead of it enough for it to not really matter.

Personally i would just go Rowan fn but if you need to, William Rowan does sound nice depending on what your ln is.

Kate0034

penelope4612 said:

So do you want to name him William Rowan or Rowan William?  I like William Rowan better personally.  Rowan is all boy to me, but at least if he ends up with 5 female Rowans in his class he can go by William.

I like William Rowan too. I think it flows slightly better.. And I really like the family name being first. I wasn't crazy at first about him having to go by a mn, but it's SO common for boys to do this in my area so it hopefully it won't be a big deal (literally all the men in my family go by middle names!) And yes, he can always decide to go by William one day if he chooses!

groovylocks

Rowan is a great name. We both liked it for our daughter before we realized she was a daughter. EDIT: Sorry, no sleep, five days, my bad. RONAN was the name we had picked out. But we liked Rowan too.

Fear that it will become a gir's name is PRECISELY why we need people like you to give it to their boys! 

BlueJuice

I'm another vote in favor of William Rowan. In a way you're hedging your bets, because he can go by Rowan, which you like, or Liam, which you also like, or if both of those end up being too popular for some reason, there's always William to fall back on, which is still excellent.

Kate0034

groovylocks said:

Fear that it will become a gir's name is PRECISELY why we need people like you to give it to their boys! 

Great point!!!

GinnyJ2012

I love Rowan. It's on my boys name list, and as been for a few years, but DH isn't a fan. I like William Rowan a lot. 

RoseShadow873

I love this name too and it has been high on my list although I don't think I'll use it because it sounds weird with my husband's last name. I don't think it's feminine at all.

missshanab

I love Rowan! I like it better for a boy, but it is gaining popularity as a girls name. But I wouldn't worry about that, it could happen to any name all it takes is a celeb to have the name or a celeb to name a baby something and it gets popular. 

PugsandKisses

How about wlliam rowan, and have him go by rowan, like your DH goes by his MN.

William may not be a 'Celtic' name per say, but it is very popular in the whole British Isles. 

I really dig them both honestly. 

Emztron500

I love it. Do it.

Boonhilde

Let me put it this way, if you were having a girl and wanted to name her Rowan would you be worried if boys shared her name?

Are we only worried because we don't want our boys to be associated with anything girlie? 

Twochickshavinachick

I understand completely about not wanting to be associated with naming trends. My name is so common in the UK that there were seven in my primary school - two (plus me) in my class! I've always seen my name as dull and boring as a result, which is a shame because I was named after my great grandmother - I like sentimental things like that - and it's a pretty name in it's own right.

I actually picked out Rowan for my firstborn when I was a girl (Also planned on using Birch, lol) I loved how it sounded unique in a town filled with Ben and Sarah's but it wasn't too outlandish. And whilst I've since started thinking of it as a unisex name, my first impression,  to this day is male.

Of course, twenty years later when I start to write my baby's name list and discover Rowan broke the top 20 in the UK at the start of the year, it actually hurt. Kinda like your best friend using your perfect baby name before you do a la Sex and the City. As much as I loved it, I couldn't use it after that.

If you're still taking suggestions, how about another tree? Birch or Oak are strong male names. Ash was popular a while ago but not too recently for it to be common and it's not due for a comeback soon. There are also a load of 'new' tree names like cedar and sequoia.