# Rowan (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/rowan/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 13,993 |
| US rank (2010) | 2,581 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 22,064 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.4% (13,803 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ɹoʊən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Anglicised from the Irish saints' name Ruadhán (“little red one”), or as a surname from Ó Ruadháin (“descendant of Ruadhán”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Rowan in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 87% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 7.0% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Rowan in the United States, Australia and Japan.

## People named Rowan

- Ellis Rowan, Australian artist, botanical illustrator and botanical collector (1848-1922)
- Carl Rowan, American journalist (1925–2000)
- Dan Rowan, American actor and comedian (1922-1987)
- Peter Rowan, American bluegrass musician
- John Rowan, American politician, Kentucky (1773-1843)
- Akebono Tarō, American professional wrestler and rikishi (1969–2024)

## Similar surnames

Rowen, Roan, Roane, Rohan, Rohn, Roma, Ryan, Reyna, Romo, Rainey, Ramey, Rooney.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.