Rowena
Appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's chronicle and was revived by Walter Scott's Ivanhoe; it is generally traced to Germanic elements meaning fame and joy.
Rowena in 2025
Rowena was given to 32 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 7,701st most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 103,604 babies born.
The history of Rowena
Rowena reached its highest point in 1917, when 224 babies were given the name, ranking 803rd that year. Its best-ever ranking was 698th, in 1893.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 10,526 babies have been named Rowena. Half of them were born before 1937, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Silent Generation.
Rowena by decade
| Decade | Babies named Rowena | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 160 | 743 |
| 1890s | 354 | 698 |
| 1900s | 406 | 789 |
| 1910s | 1,412 | 803 |
| 1920s | 1,774 | 890 |
| 1930s | 1,481 | 892 |
| 1940s | 1,056 | 1,138 |
| 1950s | 1,268 | 1,286 |
| 1960s | 960 | 1,507 |
| 1970s | 566 | 2,266 |
| 1980s | 391 | 2,941 |
| 1990s | 163 | 7,290 |
| 2000s | 127 | 11,111 |
| 2010s | 168 | 8,170 |
| 2020s | 240 | 5,494 |
Where Rowena is heading
Rowena has risen 167% over the past decade, from 12 babies in 2015 to 32 in 2025.
Names like Rowena
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Rowena.