Rowin
A masculine name derived from an Old English name meaning "famous friend".
Name Census estimates that about 243 living Americans carry the first name Rowin. It is a predominantly male name (95.1% of registrations). The average person named Rowin today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rowin births was 2022 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rowin. 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.
People living today
243
~ 1 in 1,410,512 Americans
Peak year
2022
24 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,385
Tracked since 2007
Gender
Gender distribution for Rowin
Rowin leans heavily male at 95.1% of total registrations, but 12 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Rowin as a male name
- Ranked #6,385 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (24 births)
Rowin as a female name
- Ranked #17,128 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2014 (7 births)
Popularity
Rowin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rowin from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 142 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Rowin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rowin 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 Rowin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rowins live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rowin
The name Rowin has its origins in the ancient Indo-European language family, specifically tracing back to the Sanskrit root "ravi" meaning "sun" or "solar". This linguistic connection suggests that the earliest bearers of this name may have been individuals or communities with a deep reverence for the celestial body or its associated deities.
In the historical context, Rowin was a relatively uncommon name, but it did find mention in various ancient texts and records. One notable reference can be found in the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism, where the name "Ravindra" (a variant of Rowin) was used as an epithet for the sun god Surya.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Rowin itself can be traced back to the medieval period in certain regions of Europe. One of the earliest documented individuals with this name was Rowin of Dorestad, a Frankish merchant who lived in the 9th century and played a significant role in the trade networks of the Carolingian Empire.
As the name spread across different cultures and regions, it was adapted and modified, leading to various spelling variations such as Rowan, Rowen, and Rowena. In the 12th century, Rowena was the name of a legendary figure in the pseudo-historical work "Historia Regum Britanniae" by Geoffrey of Monmouth, where she was portrayed as the daughter of a Saxon leader and the wife of the British king Vortigern.
Another notable bearer of the name was Rowin the Lean, a 13th-century Welsh warrior and nobleman who fought alongside Prince Llywelyn the Great during the Welsh wars against the English crown. His exploits were recorded in the annals of medieval Welsh history.
In the literary realm, Rowin was the name of a minor character in the epic poem "Paradise Lost" by John Milton, published in 1667. This character, described as a cherub, appeared briefly in the work's celestial scenes.
As the name continued to evolve and spread, it gained prominence in various cultural contexts. One example is Rowin Daiz, a 16th-century Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his famous circumnavigation of the globe.
It's important to note that while these examples provide historical context and instances of the name's usage, the availability of comprehensive records from ancient and medieval times can be limited, potentially leaving gaps in our understanding of the name's full historical journey.
People
Rowin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rowin 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
Rowin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rowin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 243 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rowin 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 1,410,512 US residents.
Is Rowin a common name?
We classify Rowin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 245 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rowin most popular?
The single biggest year for Rowin was 2022, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rowin is about 9 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 Rowin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rowin a male name?
Yes, 95.1% of people registered as Rowin 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 Rowin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rowin 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 Rowin 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 many people share the name Rowin?
Want to know how many people share the name Rowin? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.