Just collecting: Rowan for a daughter?

[NC4thread]

As title says really. I picked the name Aoibheann (Irish, pronounced either Ee-van or Ee-veen) months ago, but struggle to find any other Irish girl names that I A) like and B) haven’t already been used by my rather large family!! However, I saw Rowan listed as a baby girl name of Irish (and Scottish) origin and kinda fell in love with it. Everyone in my immediate family loves it too.

Now look, I am all for waiting until baby is born to officially chose baby’s name but I like having lists & collecting “data” ahead of time. And I don’t plan on getting pregnant for the next few years anyway (currently single as well!!) so it’s a while away, but just curious to see people’s thoughts really.

I love the name- for a boy or a girl. I knew it first as a girl’s name though so I tend to lean towards using it for a girl rather than a boy.

Lovely name for a girl.

It's a lovely name. I am very fond of rowan trees so it's a good association. I think it may be a bit more common as a girl's name but of course there's Rowan Atkinson and the former Archbishop of Canterbury, so probably one of the few genuinely unisex names.

It’s a name on our shortlist for our little boy, due soon.

I love it for a boy or a girl.
One of my favourite books has twin characters, Rowan and Ishbel - gorgeous. Both girls.

It’s more of a male name to me, it’s not a very pretty name

For me it’s more of a girl’s name. I love it because it’s nature-y without being floral and prissy. Strong but beautiful.

I only know women/girls called Rowan.

Lovely name

I like it for a boy. But that might be because all the Rowans I know are men/ boys.

You do have to be aware it's a name that changes a lot with accents. Most say say Row-an but some do say Roan which I would find jarring.

Beautiful name for a girl

It just reminds me of Mr bean - rowan Atkinson. Maybe that's mostly an older person thing.

In terms of something not too flowery I like Erin, Niamh, Eilís, Keavy and Aurnia.

All the Rowans I know are male.

Great name, reminds me of the marvellous (fictional) Rowan Marlow.

Quite a masculine name IMO
I would assume a boy

DS has "Girl Rowan" and "Boy Rowan" in his class at school (early primary). It's a nice name.

@Pelagi I'm with you on Rowan Marlow!

Great name, reminds me of the marvellous (fictional) Rowan Marlow.

Yes my first thought was Rowan Marlow, who is a girl. I knew her before I encountered any male Rowans.

I've loved the name ever since I read a book as a child with the main character a girl called Rowan. It's a strong and beautiful name.

I thought of him too but with my sense of humor, it’s actually a positive 🙈 There’s more unfortunate names a child could have with more unfortunate associations, so Mr Bean isn’t enough to ruin it for me 🤣

Also interesting to see how some only know male Rowans when (aside from Rowan Atkinson) any Rowan I’ve ever heard of has been female. Suppose it’s similar to the likes of Aubrey - which many would call a girl name and many would call a boy name.

I also only knew it as a girl’s name so associate it with that. I think, if I were to choose similar for a boy, it would have to be Ronan or Rohan. Those strike me as more traditionally masculine. Rowan seems softer in comparison

Lol at you being single and very much not pregnant but gettin' your baby names ready anyway! Organised queen. 😂

Rowan is okay. But not when the row part is pronounced as in row/argument. That sounds too harsh to my ears.

Aubrey is an old name that was always a boy's name (from a surname, I think) until very recently indeed. It fell out of favour as a boy's name and then Audrey had a bit of a revival and I suppose some people thought Aubrey was a nice alternative to Audrey. I doubt it's used at all for boys now. This tends to be the way when a name is far more used for girls than boys.

No, it would definitely be pronounced “Row” as in, row of seats, row your boat, etc.

And yep, organized to a T!

LOVE Rowan for a girl or a boy. It was on my list but DH wasn’t keen <glares>.

Also, I had completely 100% decided on DS1’s name about 5 years before I met DH I’m totally with you on the name organisation!

I do prefer the name for a girl than a boy but beware it's trendy and very similar sounding to very popular trendy name Roman with M