Rowan - boy or girl?

Grizz1202 · January 2015

Does Rowan strike you as a boy's name or a girl's name?

Grizz1202 · January 2015

@mjreilly2‌ Thank you! I plan on showing your response to my husband, who thinks otherwise and won't drop it as a girl name

nurse714 · January 2015

All boy.

Sassenach1743 · January 2015

Rowan is a boy's name. Super masculine. Can't imagine naming a girl this name.

I do like Rowena, as previously suggested. It reminds me of that beautiful girl in the film "Mr. Holland's Opus" that sings the Gershwin review in the school musical. Have always thought it was an unusual but very pretty and interesting name.

catahoulatte · January 2015

BOY.

74dragonfly · January 2015

Boy

lolathepeke · January 2015

BOY!!

GSUDavis · January 2015

Haha I have to be the one to go against the grain. I love the name and have considered it myself for boy OR girl.

I have also toyed with "Ronan". It's all a personal choice. =D

ravinraven216 · January 2015

I think it's a boy's name, but wouldn't side eye it for a girl.

Renisra+2 · January 2015

The first time I ever heard this name was when my cousin chose it for his daughter. So, it's hard for me not to immediately connect it to a girl, since I don't know any others with the name.

That said, I will completely admit when I first heard I thought "Eww. Sounds like a boy name".

TheAerialist · January 2015

The only (one) time I have heard the name Rowan is on a boy, but honestly when I heard it, I first felt like 'hmmm, that sounds kinda like a girls name' but then I tried to imagine it on a girl and I hated it even more.

I guess it's just NMS but the experts decree it is a boys name.

GSUDavis · January 2015

Idani said:

GSUDavis said:

Haha I have to be the one to go against the grain. I love the name and have considered it myself for boy OR girl.
I have also toyed with "Ronan". It's all a personal choice. =D

You can't seriously be considering RONAN for a girl?

I'm guessing you missed the personal choice part.

It's Gaelic meaning "little seal" and I think it's a great name. Eitherway, Ronan as a male or female is *far* better than some of the names that people on this planet are currently saddled with. I'm not splitting hairs over it. It's a personal choice. Name your kids whatever you'd like.

NerdyLucy · January 2015

Boy.

TREDgirl · January 2015

It's actually a pretty solid unisex name. Besides the fact that we're talking pure personal opinion here I don't see why anyone would be blasted for using this gender ambiguous name for a boy or girl. As I'm sure you know the name derives from a Norse name for a tree. A very sacred tree that is still honored by many cultures including calling the same tree 'Witchbane' and 'Witch Wood.'

Despite the fact that the SSA list favors the name for a boy I've met more females with the name Rowan than males.

Does that mean it can't work for a girl? No.

Is it only 'for the boys'? No.

GSUDavis · January 2015

In this day and age, names and gender roles are becoming more and more ambiguous.

Feel free to lambast all of the girls/women on the planet currently named Ronan or any other name that people are ambivalent toward.

WashingtonQueen · January 2015

Boy! Boy! Boy!

GSUDavis · January 2015

ramy3 said:

GSUDavis said:

In this day and age, names and gender roles are becoming more and more ambiguous.

Feel free to lambast all of the girls/women on the planet currently named Ronan or any other name that people are ambivalent toward.

Yeah, screw thousands of years of Irish heritage and culture. We do what we want!!!

Alas, people do it all day, everyday.

GSUDavis · January 2015

I recall a song named "Boy named Sue".

I'm not going to continue to go 'round on this. I'll name my children whatever DH and I decide, just as you and your DH will or have named yours accordingly. I did as the OP requested and gave my opinion. That's that.

gnomemom · January 2015

Boy. I really love this name and hate to see it being used as a unisex name. Rowena is an awesome choice for a girl, though.

4N6s · January 2015

Boy.

DawnJM25 · January 2015

Boy. Could you name your daughter this? Yes. It's your personal choice. But, you would be giving her a boy name.

8411mommy · January 2015

Boy Name

erinms · January 2015

GSUDavis said:
I recall a song named "Boy named Sue".

I'm not going to continue to go 'round on this. I'll name my children whatever DH and I decide, just as you and your DH will or have named yours accordingly. I did as the OP requested and gave my opinion. That's that.

In "boy named Sue" he was named that by his father so that he would get constantly picked on and learn how to fight.

The problem is that "gender roles are getting more ambiguous" is kind of misleading. It's actually a lot more complicated than that. I bet you really would not name a boy Sue or Annabelle or Elizabeth . When you use a boy name on a girl, it is not because we are getting so fluid with our naming and gender roles. Maybe we are using more boy names on girls- but we are not using girl names on boys. That actually says a lot about our ideas of gender and our ideas about women.

I mean, you do you, but justifying boy names on girls with "well, gender roles are just so ambiguous now" is not quite the full story.

Elsa1984 · January 2015

To me, it is a boy name. However, I don't know a single boy named Rowan.....they are all girls.

Mamamads · January 2015

Not a fan either way but I like it better for a boy.

XOdanXO · January 2015

IRL i only know girls named Rowan, but think it is a very masculine name. Also, how is it correctly pronounced? As one person pronounces Row-ann(row as in another word for an argument) and the other like Ro-in.

==N== · January 2015

Just in case it needs to be said again...boy.

daystardreams · January 2015

Boy! Though the only Rowan I know is a girl.

TweedleDee3 · January 2015

I only know one toddler boy with this name. It's a boys name.

jraeohyeaaa · January 2015

This post was enlightening because I have only met girls named Rowan and when friends of mine named their son Rowan I thought "what is wrong with them giving him a girl name!!!" Now I know the truth!

AshleyMB86 · January 2015

I think it could go either way honestly. The first time I ever encountered the name Rowan , was when I was younger and reading The Witching Hour. The main female protagonist was named Rowan.

teeveemom · January 2015

I think of it as a girl's name. It's one of those names that may have been a boy's name ... But people are starting to name their girls it. So, it's definitely changing over.

conradraging · January 2015

teeveemom said:
I think of it as a girl's name. It's one of those names that may have been a boy's name ... But people are starting to name their girls it. So, it's definitely changing over.

Nope. Definitely not. It is on my short list for a boy, though.

Zimger · January 2015

Boy

Sassenach1743 · January 2015

bromios said:

teeveemom said:

I think of it as a girl's name. It's one of those names that may have been a boy's name ... But people are starting to name their girls it. So, it's definitely changing over.

The name is a boy name and a million ill-informed parents have no power to change that fact.
On a separate but sort of related note, after that one awesome post a few days ago, is anyone else rediscovering their love for Lindsey/Lindsay on a boy? I always thought I hated the name, but I am realizing that is because it wasn't ever supposed to be put on girls.

Yes! I thought that too. I've never liked it as a girl's name because I thought it sounded masculine.

jelina · January 2015

brita722 said:

bromios said:

teeveemom said:

I think of it as a girl's name. It's one of those names that may have been a boy's name ... But people are starting to name their girls it. So, it's definitely changing over.

The name is a boy name and a million ill-informed parents have no power to change that fact.
On a separate but sort of related note, after that one awesome post a few days ago, is anyone else rediscovering their love for Lindsey/Lindsay on a boy? I always thought I hated the name, but I am realizing that is because it wasn't ever supposed to be put on girls.

Yes! I thought that too. I've never liked it as a girl's name because I thought it sounded masculine.

Yes!Yes!Yes! This is one of several "girls" names that I always hated growing up until I realized why. They're boy names! See also: Sidney, Leslie, Shannon, Kelly, Ashley

BananaLettuce · January 2015

Joy2611 said:

Idani said:
And now @joy2611 is dying
I'm in Fantasyland of Disney World. So fitting.

I am so jealous. Disney World is like home to me. Seriously. I get homesick for it.

Sassenach1743 · January 2015

jelina said:

brita722 said:

bromios said:

teeveemom said:

I think of it as a girl's name. It's one of those names that may have been a boy's name ... But people are starting to name their girls it. So, it's definitely changing over.

The name is a boy name and a million ill-informed parents have no power to change that fact.
On a separate but sort of related note, after that one awesome post a few days ago, is anyone else rediscovering their love for Lindsey/Lindsay on a boy? I always thought I hated the name, but I am realizing that is because it wasn't ever supposed to be put on girls.

Yes! I thought that too. I've never liked it as a girl's name because I thought it sounded masculine.

Yes!Yes!Yes! This is one of several "girls" names that I always hated growing up until I realized why. They're boy names! See also: Sidney, Leslie, Shannon, Kelly, Ashley

Yep! I actually came back to this thread to add Kelly, Sidney and Shannon to my post. Forgot about Leslie and Ashley, but totally agree!

shannm · January 2015

brita722 said:

jelina said:

brita722 said:

bromios said:

teeveemom said:

I think of it as a girl's name. It's one of those names that may have been a boy's name ... But people are starting to name their girls it. So, it's definitely changing over.

The name is a boy name and a million ill-informed parents have no power to change that fact.
On a separate but sort of related note, after that one awesome post a few days ago, is anyone else rediscovering their love for Lindsey/Lindsay on a boy? I always thought I hated the name, but I am realizing that is because it wasn't ever supposed to be put on girls.

Yes! I thought that too. I've never liked it as a girl's name because I thought it sounded masculine.

Yes!Yes!Yes! This is one of several "girls" names that I always hated growing up until I realized why. They're boy names! See also: Sidney, Leslie, Shannon, Kelly, Ashley

Yep! I actually came back to this thread to add Kelly, Sidney and Shannon to my post. Forgot about Leslie and Ashley, but totally agree!

This is truly a question out of curiosity. What is the evidence that the name Shannon was originally meant to be a boy name? I understand that when it started to be used in the US, it was mainly on boys but isn't its history traced back to a goddess (Sionann) named after the river?

It doesn't bother me either way on a male or female (obviously), I'm just sincerely curious about the origin of its use.

KarissaWalker · January 2015

I thought boy... But then a friend just named her daughter Rowen Jane & I semi love it! My cousin has Rowan picked for her 2nd boy due in July and I just like it better than her son Ridge's name... Yes Ridge. Odd.

TREDgirl · January 2015

Whether you think you 'know' all the history and origins of the name it's still personal opinion. Neither sex owns one name or the other. Naming trends change over and over again. I can find several sites that claim Rowan as feminine and I'm sure there are several sites that claim Rowan as masculine. Because it's the internet and you can find whatever you want to support your own opinions.

There's no naming laws that state you have to stick to one typical gender name for your child. If we all went with 'girl' names on girls or 'boy' names on boys the world would be a pretty boring place. If it's a legitimate name and spelled correctly so be it. Our kids will make fun of names by observing our opinions and behaviors on how we react to names.

Rowan - boy or girl?

Re: Rowan - boy or girl?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards