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 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, American army officer
- Archibald Hamilton Rowan, Irish celebrity and founding member of The Dublin Society of United Irishmen
- Athol Rowan, South African cricketer
- Barbara Ann Rowan, American attorney
- Carl Rowan, American journalist and author
- Chad Rowan, Akebono, Hawaiian sumo wrestler
- Sir Charles Rowan, officer in the British Army and Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
- Dan Rowan, American actor and comedian, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
- Dave Rowan, Canadian baseball player
- Dawn Rowan, Australian therapist
- Dominic Rowan, English actor
- Ellis Rowan, Australian naturalist and illustrator
- Eric Rowan, South African cricketer
- Erick Rowan, ring name of American wrestler Joseph Rudd
- Ev Rowan, American football player
- Ford Rowan, American television reporter, and panelist on Meet the Press
- George Rowan, Scottish footballer
- Henry Rowan, American philanthropist and engineer, namesake of Rowan University
- Jenny Rowan, New Zealand politician
- John Rowan (disambiguation), several people
- Jonathan Rowan, English footballer
- Joseph Rowan, American politician from New York
- Kelly Rowan, Canadian actress and model
- Leslie Rowan, British civil servant and industrialist
- Levi J. Rowan American academic administrator, college president, teacher, and photographer
- Lou Rowan, Australian cricket umpire
- Louis R. Rowan, American businessman and racehorse owner and breeder
- Matthew Rowan, American politician from North Carolina
- Peter Rowan, American bluegrass musician and composer
- Ron Rowan, American basketball player
- Sheila Rowan (physicist), British physicist
- Stephen Clegg Rowan, American vice admiral
- William Rowan, British military commander
Given name
- Saint Rowan, Irish 6th century abbot, one of the Apostles of Ireland
- Rowan Alexander, Scottish football player and manager
- Rowan Atkinson, English actor, comedian, and screenwriter
- Rowan Barrett, Canadian basketball player
- Rowan Bettjeman, New Zealander YouTuber, actor, director, and producer
- Rowan Blanchard, American actress
- Rowan Bowles, Australian handbike cyclist
- Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, American writer
- Rowan Cronjé, Rhodesian politician
- Rowan Crothers, Australian swimmer
- Rowan Deacon, English director and filmmaker
- Rowan Ellis, British YouTuber and author
- Rowan Gomes, Antiguan basketball player
- Rowan Pelling, British editor and columnist
- Rowan Vine, English footballer
- Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
- Rowan Woods, Australian film director
- William Rowan Hamilton, 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 Berry, played by Siobhan Thompson in The Unsleeping City, the third season of Dimension 20.
- 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, 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
- Rowan Segmunt, in the Re:Zero light novel series