Rowan vs Ronan

WashingtonQueen · April 2014

I have a dilemma. Rowan is my top boy name right now (tied with Graham). I love it! My problem is it's use on girls. I have never liked "unisex" names, I much prefer to be able to tell if a person is male or female just by seeing their name on paper. It makes me twitch to see girls all over the place named Rowan. And it's about to get a pop culture jump on the girl side with the actress of Girl Meets World.

Ronan has such a similar sound and I think it could be a good alternative. My problem is that I think Rowan is easier to say than Ronan when calling out for a child. Also, one of our last names starts with N so it may be a bit N heavy.

Thoughts on this issue?

WashingtonQueen · April 2014

mjreilly2 said:
I prefer Rowan. I mean, I like Ronan, but I prefer the sound of Rowan. The parent's using it on girls doesn't bother me. It is a boy's name, plain and simple—I am not going to let other people ruin my love for the name.

I know what you mean, MJ. I encourage people here not to let boy name stealers win. I'm just having a hard time with it myself.. I've always hated unisex names. I'm trying to get past it but I don't want people to have to ask if my child is a boy or a girl when I say my kid's name. But I love the name so much. Damn it.

Zimger · April 2014

I like both but lean toward Ronan. It sounds like you prefer Rowan. So that is what I would encourage you to use.

Havana2014 · April 2014

I prefer Ronan, probably because I'm more familiar with it. But if I saw/heard the name Rowan I would assume it belonged to a male.

diamondduck13 · April 2014

I hear what you are saying about Ronan not rolling off the tongue well, and not wanting a name that due to current usage would leave some folks unsure about boy or girl.

I'd say it's a choice between the lesser of evils. If it were me I'd probably start over with fresh ideas. It's unfortunate

JMU_Bride09 · April 2014

You have to ask yourself: will you be more upset about naming a boy Rowan and people asking, "boy or girl?" or more upset about not using a name that you love?

Cricket Bug · April 2014

JMU_Bride09 said:

You have to ask yourself: will you be more upset about naming a boy Rowan and people asking, "boy or girl?" or more upset about not using a name that you love?

Very well said! I completely agree. I also have to add that those two names are favourite around our house. I give the tiniest edge to Ronan though for the nickname... if you are the nickname type.

g8trkim · April 2014

It sounds like you like Rowan better so I would say go with that. But if you like Graham equally, it's actually my favorite of the three and it's more clearly a boy.

WestIsleFlower · April 2014

I love Rowan too, and I don't let the girl association bother me. Whenever I see or hear it on a girl, I can't help but get into the "I'm right you're wrong" mentality. Graham is a great choice too!

mh89 · April 2014

I prefer Rowan.

Or if you're worried about unisex names… Rohan over Ronan?

novilise · April 2014

Ronan. I think that it has a more distinct sound,

poppins123 · April 2014

I prefer Rowan over Ronan - especially with a LN beginning with 'n'. Both are great though.

What about Roman?

WashingtonQueen · April 2014

Thank you for the input, you ladies gave me some good points to consider.
The suggestion of Roman, we thought about it but really don't like it.

Another question, I hear a lot about Rowan being a softer boy name. Is it too soft to go with brother Xander? Does Ronan go better with Xander?

actinup23 · April 2014

Love Rowan. It's completely a boy's name to me. I wouldn't let the boy name stealers stop you. I have a female Logan and a female Dylan as students, but that doesn't make them girl names to me.

abchittam · April 2014

I prefer Rowan and if I heard it I would assume it was a boy. I've actually never heard of Ronan.

JillJiggs · April 2014

I don't see Rowan as inherently masculine or feminine, since to me it's the name of a tree. (Not to say it's a bad name at all, I just don't associate "nature" names with any particular gender).

To me I think you should go with Rowan, as you seem to really like it. Honestly, I don't think passing up on a name you love is worth it just to avoid someone thinking your son is a girl for two seconds, and that probably won't come up very often. I've seen some female Sterlings, which is in your sibset, and I bet you probably don't have to explain it often if at all.

WashingtonQueen · April 2014

JillJiggs said:
I don't see Rowan as inherently masculine or feminine, since to me it's the name of a tree. (Not to say it's a bad name at all, I just don't associate "nature" names with any particular gender).

To me I think you should go with Rowan, as you seem to really like it. Honestly, I don't think passing up on a name you love is worth it just to avoid someone thinking your son is a girl for two seconds, and that probably won't come up very often. I've seen some female Sterlings, which is in your sibset, and I bet you probably don't have to explain it often if at all.

I disagree. Our top girl name is from nature - Daphne. There is no way that is gender neutral.

I didn't name Sterling as he is adopted. Sterling is in no way shape or form a girl name. Sterling has ranked on the SSA list every single year since it started in 1880. Never once has it ranked on the girl list. No one has ever questioned if he is a girl and rightly so. Associations people bring up on occasion would be the NFL player Sterling Sharpe and Disney actor Sterling Knight. There has never been a famous female Sterling.

Rowan is a much different story. It first appeared on the SSA list as a boy name in 1999. Rowan started ranking as a girl name in 2003. Both male and female versions have stayed on the list since their induction. While the boy side has always ranked higher than girls, it is more famously associated with females.
I would inevitably get a lot of girl comments and I have to figure out of I'm willing to deal with it since it's something I've hated my entire life. All of my children (whether I named them or not) have distinctively masculine names, Daniel, Sterling and Xander, or a distinctly feminine name, Serena.

EXL311 · April 2014

I absolutely love Rowan. DH said if we have two more boys I could name our third son Rowan. Not likely to happen but I have thought about this issue. Honestly I love it so much I would use it. I don't see the boy/girl thing being an issue too much to pick a name you don't love as much.

macchiatto · April 2014

The one Sterling I've met IRL was a little girl ... and she was an adorable precocious kid but her name SO did not seem to fit a little girl! (Then her little sister had a very feminine name. Odd sibset. But anyhow ...)

I get why it might bug you to have people wonder. FWIW, I have a relative with a little Ronan and I don't find it hard to say.

meganbwatson · April 2014

I prefer Rowan over Ronan, but I like Graham the most!

sweetpea2003 · April 2014

I prefer Ronan. I find Rowan to be feminine and it just reminds me of the college in NJ. I also like that Ronan is less popular and it just feels "fresher" to me.

KStar21 · April 2014

If your heart is set on Rowan I think you should go for it, and not let it go to the girls (BTW, the boys still have the majority with this name according to the SSA stats)! Maybe you could use a more clearly masculine middle name so there are more options if gender confusion does become an issue?

nittanyllama · April 2014

I prefer Rowan. I really like it. I don't think it's soft. And to me it's all boy.

Ronan is fine, I just don't like it as much. And the N heavy thing would worry me a little.

Love Graham

sharksfan · April 2014

FWIW, my son's name is Ronin, and I never find it difficult to say or call out his name. Rowan is nice, though, and a name you should totally use if you love it.

... And Graham is a top contender if my next baby is also a boy. So, clearly you have great taste.

MollyC20 · April 2014

Have you thought of Roman instead of Ronan? Would that sound better with your last name? Both are great names -- but Rowan is our girl name and I can totally see it getting even MORE popular with girls because of that show!

WashingtonQueen · April 2014

MollyC20 said:
Have you thought of Roman instead of Ronan? Would that sound better with your last name? Both are great names -- but Rowan is our girl name and I can totally see it getting even MORE popular with girls because of that show!

When said with the N part of our last name it starts to sound like Roman Numeral.

BeachBabe22 · April 2014

I love Rowan!

jallascalla · April 2014

I love both names, they were on our top 5 list for my son. I do prefer Ronan a smidge, and a friend named their son Rowan around the same time, so the name went down the list for us. I think Ronan and Xander sound nice together.

TREDgirl · April 2014

If you love Rowan go for it. Our little girl is named Rowan and I always clarify that she's the girl-her twin brother is Griffin. And they are only 6 months old so they haven't hit that undeniably identifiable stage yet by just looking at them.

I don't think us 'boy name stealers' have made a big enough impact yet for people to automatically think girl when they hear Rowan. With a unisex name like this it's usually based on whether people know a girl or boy Rowan.

MrsAdventure · April 2014

The only Rowen I know is a girl, and as much as I am a hard core Harry Potter nerd, it pains me to say she was named after Rowena Ravenclaw. That being said, for a boy, I think it's nice. I like it only marginally better than Ronan because as OP said, they are very similar. I really only prefer it over Ronan because I can see people trying to shorten the name to Ron or Ronnie, which I am not a fan of.

TessTickle · April 2014

I love both names, with Ronan winning by a slight edge (my last name begins and ends with an "N," so I totally KWYM).

You really can't go wrong with either.

That being said, YOU seem you love Rowan more, so I think your choice is clear

pipeTsquared · April 2014

I really like Ronan

Like a lot

Rowan I really dont like

@abchittam - really never? Not even Ronan Keating or Ronan (satchel) Farrow?

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