Rowan (name)

Rowan is a traditionally masculine Irish given name and surname, now also in use as a given name for girls. Variants of the name include Roan, Rohan, Ruadhán, and Ruadh. The name comes from the Irish surname Ó Ruadháin and from the word ruadh, meaning "red-haired" or "rusty." When used as a feminine name, it is often in reference to the tree, the name of which has Scandinavian origins. It is also an Arabic feminine name (روان) referring to a river in Paradise. The name shares the same roots as the names Raya, Rana, Rania and Rayan.

Notable people with the name include:

Surname

 * Andrew Summers Rowan (1857–1943), American army officer
 * Archibald Hamilton Rowan (1751–1834), Irish celebrity and founding member of The Dublin Society of United Irishmen
 * Athol Rowan (1921–1998), South African cricketer
 * Barbara Ann Rowan (1938–2020), American attorney
 * Carl Rowan (1925–2000), American journalist and author
 * Chad Rowan (1969–2024), Akebono, Hawaiian sumo wrestler
 * Sir Charles Rowan (c. 1782 – 1852), officer in the British Army and Commissioner of Police of the (London) Metropolis
 * Dan Rowan (1922–1987), American actor and comedian, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
 * Dave Rowan (1882–1955), Canadian baseball player
 * Dawn Rowan (born 1946), Australian therapist
 * Dominic Rowan (born 1970), English actor
 * Ellis Rowan (1847–1922), Australian naturalist and illustrator
 * Eric Rowan (1909–1993), South African cricketer
 * Erick Rowan (born 1981), ring name of American wrestler Joseph Rudd
 * Ev Rowan (1902–1956), American football player
 * Ford Rowan, American television reporter, and panelist on Meet the Press
 * George Rowan, Scottish footballer
 * Henry Rowan (1923–2015), American philanthropist and engineer, namesake of Rowan University
 * Jenny Rowan (born 1949), New Zealand politician
 * John Rowan (disambiguation), several people
 * Jonathan Rowan (born 1981), English footballer
 * Joseph Rowan (1870–1930), US Representative from New York
 * Kelly Rowan (born 1965), Canadian actress and model
 * Leslie Rowan (1908–1972), British civil servant and industrialist
 * Lou Rowan (1925–2017), Australian cricket umpire
 * Louis R. Rowan (1911–1988), American businessman and racehorse owner and breeder
 * Matthew Rowan (died 1769), acting governor of North Carolina, 1753–54
 * Peter Rowan (born 1942), American bluegrass musician and composer
 * Ron Rowan (born 1962), American basketball player
 * Sheila Rowan (physicist) (born 1969), British physicist
 * Stephen Clegg Rowan (1808–1890), American vice admiral
 * William Rowan (1789–1879), British military commander

Given name

 * Saint Rowan, Irish abbot of the 6th century and one of the Apostles of Ireland
 * Rowan Alexander, Scottish footballer and manager
 * Rowan Atkinson (born 1955), English actor, comedian, and screenwriter
 * Rowan Barrett (born 1972), Canadian basketball player in Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Rowan Blanchard (born 2001), American actress
 * Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, American writer
 * Rowan Crothers (born 1997), Australian swimmer
 * Rowan Cronjé (1937–2014), Rhodesian politician
 * Rowan Deacon, English director and filmmaker
 * Rowan Pelling (born 1968), British editrice and columnist
 * Rowan Vine (born 1982), English footballer
 * Rowan Williams (born 1950), Archbishop of Canterbury
 * Rowan Woods, Australian film director
 * William Rowan Hamilton (1805–1865), Irish mathematician

Fictional characters

 * Rowan, one of the two main protagonists in Fire Emblem Warriors
 * Rowan, the main character in Emily Rodda's Rowan of Rin fantasy books
 * Rowan Damisch, one of the two main characters in the novel Scythe
 * Rowan Khanna, in the mobile game Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
 * Rowan LaFontaine, in the film Jason X
 * Rowan Mayfair, in the Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy by Anne Rice
 * Rowan Mills, in NBC's The Blacklist
 * Rowan Morrison, in 1973 film The Wicker Man


 * Rowan North, the main antagonist of the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot
 * Rowan Omondi, a main character in Alice Oseman's I Was Born for This
 * Rowan Theirin (née Guerrin), in Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne by David Gaider
 * Rowan Whitethorn, in the Throne of Glass book series by Sarah J. Maas
 * Professor Rowan, in the Pokémon franchise
 * Lily Rowan, in the Nero Wolfe franchise by Rex Stout
 * Rosalie Rowan, in the DC Animated Universe