What Does the Name Rowan Mean?

Rowan is a unisex name of Irish origin meaning “little red one.”

Updated June 2026

Name	Rowan
Gender	unisex
Origin	Irish
Meaning	little red one
Variants	Ruadhan, Rowanne, Roan, Rowen
Popularity	Rising steadily in the US for both sexes since the 2000s; a top-200 name that is more common for boys but increasingly used for girls.

The meaning and origin of Rowan

The name Rowan means “little red one” and has Irish origins. From the Irish name Ruadhan, a diminutive of ruadh ('red'), meaning 'little red one'; it also coincides with the English word for the rowan tree. Long a male name in Ireland, it is now widely used for both sexes.

Variants and related names

Rowan is related to several other names you may recognize: Ruadhan, Rowanne, Roan, Rowen. These share a common root or are spelling and language variants of the same name.

How popular is the name Rowan?

Rising steadily in the US for both sexes since the 2000s; a top-200 name that is more common for boys but increasingly used for girls.

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