Rhowen
A gender-neutral Welsh name meaning "little red one" or "red-haired one".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Rhowen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rhowen today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rhowen births was 2016 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rhowen. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rhowen. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2016
5 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2016 SSA rank
#13,765
Tracked since 2016
Popularity
Rhowen: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Rhowen 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 Rhowen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Rhowen
The name Rhowen is a Welsh given name with origins dating back to medieval times. It is a combination of the Welsh elements "rho" meaning "gift" and "gwen" meaning "white" or "blessed." Together, the name can be interpreted as "blessed gift" or "white gift."
In its earliest forms, the name was spelled variations like "Rhonwen" or "Rhonwyn." These spellings appeared in ancient Welsh texts and genealogical records from the 12th and 13th centuries, particularly those originating from regions like Gwynedd and Powys in northwestern Wales.
One of the earliest recorded namesakes was Rhonwyn ferch Ednyfed, a Welsh noblewoman who lived in the late 12th century. She was a member of the princely House of Mathrafal and married into the House of Dinefwr. Records show her name was sometimes anglicized as "Ronwenna."
Another early bearer of the name was Rhonwen ferch Gruffudd, who lived in the early 13th century. She was the daughter of Gruffudd ap Cynan, a prominent Welsh prince and king of Gwynedd. Rhonwen's name appears in the Brut y Tywysogion, a chronicle of the princes of Wales.
In the 15th century, there was a Rhonwen ferch Dafydd, who married into the prominent Wynn family of Gwydir in Caernarfonshire. She was the mother of Sir John Wynn, a notable historian and member of parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Moving into more modern times, the Welsh poet and writer Rhowen Frys (1882-1962) was a noteworthy bearer of the name. She published several volumes of poetry and prose works in the Welsh language, including the poetry collection "Caniadau" in 1926.
Finally, Rhowen Tollemache (1905-1983) was an English artist and illustrator known for her works depicting natural history subjects. She illustrated several books on animals and birds published in the mid-20th century.
People
Rhowen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rhowen 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
Rhowen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rhowen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rhowen 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Rhowen a common name?
We classify Rhowen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rhowen most popular?
The single biggest year for Rhowen was 2016, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rhowen is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Rhowen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rhowen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rhowen 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 Rhowen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rhowen 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 Rhowen 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Rhowen?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Rhowen at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.