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definately Rowan

I've always thought of Rowan as a boy's name.

Thank you all so much for replying. (Keep them coming if you've read this far!) l

Opps posted too soon. It looks like Rowen is most popular. The Rowan/Rowen spelling thing is Really Annoying. I am not sure what to do - some say Rowan is the boys spelling and en is the girls spelling but I don't want to look like we have just changed it to be different! It's just the way we thought the girls version is meant to be spelt! It seems as though she will have to spell it less with Rowan...but DH wants Rowen. Hmmm!!
Interestingly noone has said they hate both or offered any alternatives.

Rowan by default as Freya is very faddy. Will be like Tiffany or similar. V dated.

Freya is much nicer. Rowan is a boys' name. Rowan for a girl seems very downmarket to me; a bit like Morgan.

I think Rowan as a girls name is more traditional in Scotland.

I'd disagree that Rowan's downmarket for a girl - all the female Rowans I've come across have been thoroughly middle-class, albeit often with somewhat artsy or 'alternative' parents (e.g. one had parents who followed Wicca). And historically I think it's been pretty much unisex (one of the few names that genuinely are), although possibly more so in Scotland than England.

Please - anything but Freya (my most hated girl's name). I think of a really annoying woman on holiday once, whose DD (aged about 3) was crawling under everyone's tables and being badly behaved while her mother just whined "Freeeeyaaaaa" while doing nothing to distract her.
Now my cousin has named her baby Freya, much to my disappointment.

I'm afraid the female Rowans that I know of (both big and small), most definitely do not come from 'artsy' 'alternative' families; quite the opposite!

Where do they come from gounglone?

Lol not bothered if you know of other Rowans from non artsy families I thought Morgan was a girls name? Not keen though. It has def traditionally been unisex, and i like the link with the Rowan tree which is pretty. I never really wanted a unisex name but love Rowan; it's unusual enough but not very common whilst still pretty and can suit young and old. I think it could grow on people if they're not keen at first.
If you like Rowan, what's your vote on spelling?

I like Freya more than Rowen. I thought Rowen (Rowan?) was a boy's name. It will always just remind me of Rowan Atkinson.

Rowen or Rowena definately!

Please don't listen to what anyone says and go for what you really like!

In your case Rowan see personally I prefer Freya as it's more feminine but then I'm not naming your baby!

I think one problem with slightly more unusual names is that there will tend to be one or two well-known carriers of the name (in this case, Rowan Atkinson and Rowan Williams) who most people will automatically associate it with. So you'll therefore get comments like 'Rowan is a boy's name because of Rowan Atkinson'. That's why so many people favour more familiar, established names - if you say 'Kate', or 'Emily', for instance, people have many more associations to choose from, and won't form opinions of it based on a single person. I have the same problem when I say I like the name Elsa - people immediately say "You can't use that for a child because of that lion in 'Born Free'!"

Those were our top two names for dd1. We went for Rowan as I was put off by how common Freya is these days.

I love Rowan and would spell it this way. I know one female Rowan (40) and two male Rowans (toddlers).

Funnily enough, all the parents are slightly boho/arty/musical.

I know two preschool Rowans (girls) and one adult Rowan (male). All spelt with an 'a' - Rowan. It was on our baby names lists for both genders.

To me Rowen with an e looks misspelt. I really don't like Rowena, however.

Its quite interesting to put 'Rowan' in Facebook's search engine as you'll see an even mix of male and female Rowans come up. I like doing this to see what people with a certain name, around the world, look like.
Not many results for the Rowen spelling though - they all seem to be Rowenas.

Rowan looks feminine. Rowen looks masculine. Please go with Rowan!

Rowan with an a. I knew a nice Freya, but she'd be my age - mid 30s. I know one baby girl Rowan.

I vote for Freya just because it sounds more feminine to me than Rowan/Rowen and I like the girly albeit popular names (so shoot me).

However, don't let your friend's reaction put you off the name that YOU love. And if you love Rowan/Rowen then you should call her that and sod the nay-sayers . If that's always been your first choice, go with it.

I love Freya!

I've always known Rowan as a girl's name (other than Rowan Atkinson) and the row rhymes with cow not toe. <is Scottish>

I like it.

Rowan