Rowen
An English unisex name derived from the Old English words for "roughish" or "rowan tree".
Name Census estimates that about 9,951 living Americans carry the first name Rowen. It sits at #445 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Rowen today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rowen births was 2024 (886 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rowen. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Rowen with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Rowen is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
10.0K
~ 1 in 34,444 Americans
Peak year
2024
886 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#445
Tracked since 1944
Census
Rowen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,126 people with the first name Rowen, which placed it at #3,416 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,416
National first-name rank
People counted
6.1K
6,126 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rowen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rowen is White at 77.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.2%) and Two or More Races (7.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Rowen described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Rowen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.1% · 4,726
- Hispanic or Latino10.2% · 624
- Two or more races7.3% · 446
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 178
- Black or African American2.0% · 121
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 31
Gender
Gender distribution for Rowen
Rowen is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 10,031 total registrations, 7,544 (75.2%) were male and 2,487 (24.8%) were female.
Rowen as a male name
- Ranked #445 in 2024
- 706 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (706 births)
Rowen as a female name
- Ranked #1,287 in 2024
- 180 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (187 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Rowen on both sides of the split. Of the 6,134 people counted with this name, 4,495 were male (73.3%) and 1,639 were female (26.7%).
Popularity
Rowen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rowen from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 4,965 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Rowen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rowen by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Rowen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rowens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 44 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Rowen, while New Mexico, North Dakota, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 172 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rowen
The name Rowen is believed to have originated from the Welsh language, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is thought to be a variant of the name Rhon, which means "speckled" or "brown."
In ancient Welsh poetry and literature, the name Rowen was often associated with the natural world, particularly with trees and forests. This connection may have stemmed from the name's resemblance to the word "rowan," which refers to a species of tree known for its vibrant red berries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rowen can be found in the Welsh Triads, a collection of traditional stories and legends from the 13th century. In these tales, Rowen ap Gwalchmai is mentioned as a renowned warrior and member of King Arthur's court.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Rowen. In the late 16th century, Rowen Griffith was a prominent Welsh scholar and translator who played a significant role in preserving and promoting the Welsh language.
In the 18th century, Rowen Williams was a Welsh writer and poet known for his works celebrating the beauty of the Welsh countryside. He was born in 1719 and lived until 1788.
Moving into the 20th century, Rowen Sexton was an acclaimed Australian artist and painter, known for her vivid landscapes and portraits. She was born in 1901 and passed away in 1977.
Another notable figure with the name Rowen was Rowen Jacobsen, an American author and journalist who wrote extensively on food and agriculture. He was born in 1958 and has published several books on sustainable farming practices.
In more recent times, Rowen Blanchard is an American actress and activist who gained recognition for her role in the Disney Channel series "Girl Meets World." She was born in 2001 and has been lauded for her advocacy work on various social and environmental issues.
While the name Rowen may have originated from humble beginnings, it has grown to hold a rich cultural legacy, with a diverse range of individuals contributing to its historical significance across various fields.
People
Rowen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rowen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rowen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rowen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,951 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rowen going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 34,444 US residents.
Is Rowen a common name?
We classify Rowen as "Rare". It ranks above 97.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,031 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rowen most popular?
The single biggest year for Rowen was 2024, when 886 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rowen is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rowen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,126 people with the name Rowen, or 2.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,416 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Rowen in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Rowen?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Rowen on both sides of the split. Of the 6,134 people counted with this name, 4,495 were male (73.3%) and 1,639 were female (26.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Rowen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rowen is White at 77.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.2%) and Two or More Races (7.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Rowen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rowen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.1% (4,726 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Rowen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rowen a male name?
Yes, 75.2% of people registered as Rowen in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Rowen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rowen in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Rowen can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Rowen as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Rowen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.