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[Opinions] Rowan or Rowena?
ok, so here's the problem. I love the name Rowan for a boy and Rowena (row-enn-ah) for a girl, but obviously, i can't use them both lol. I've always loved the name Rowan, but fear that it's becoming a bit too popular for my taste. Rowena is gorgeous, but i don't want people to think that I just made a feminine name out of a musculine name for the fun of it. What are your suggestions?edited to add pronounciation of Rowena.

This message was edited 8/26/2007, 7:17 AM

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I love Rowan on a boy.Rowena is ugly said row-EE-nah and weird said row-EN-ah. I also don't really like how it looks written down.
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I far prefer Rowena (though I think row-EE-nah is far prettier), though if I were going with your prn, I would consider spelling it Rowenna--it'd get fewer questions about the pronunciation. Rowan is too overtalked for my tastes. I don't really care for it.Array
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Prefer Rowan:-)
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I'd pick Rowena.There's something about it that seems so elegant to me. I like Rowan for a boy, too, but right now, I prefer Rowena.If people think it's merely a made-up feminization of Rowan... well, then they're just silly, because Rowena is a completely different name in its own right. ;) Besides, Rowan itself is technically unisex, so I personally don't see much reason to feminize it.

This message was edited 8/26/2007, 9:48 AM

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I love Rowan for a boy and Rowena for a girl. I've always loved Rowan and I started to like Rowena after the Harry Potter books (Rowena Rawenclaw) so if I had girl/boy twins I would use Rowan for the boy and something different for the girl.
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Yes, Rowan is becoming popular, but it's still much nicer than Rowena (either pronunciation), IMO.
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I love Rowan for a girl because I knew one. But Rowena is an actual name too I don't think people will think you made it feminine. They came from different origins. Use whatever name you like, don't worry about other people. :-)
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I love Rowan, and personally would use it for a girl! It is NOT popular in my area so that wouldn't be an issue! I don't care for Rowena, though!:~) Kelly
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I prefer Rowan for a boy
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Dittoboo
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I like Rowena pronounced ro-WEN-uh. I HATE it pronounced ro-WEEN-uh. The WEEN sound is so ugly. I do think it's perfectly usuable though.I prefer the name Rowan, girl or boy. As a nature/tree name I think it suits either.
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yeah, I've never heard ro-WEN-a before. It's ro-WEEN-a all the way!
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oh god i'd NEVER pronounce it "ro-ween-uh" it makes it so ugly!!!
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That's the usual pronunciation for it. Click on the link.Rowena
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I also love both, but the 'wan' sound in Rowan is far, far more satisfying to me than the 'ween' sound in Rowena. So, Rowan comes tops for me.
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it would be pronounced "row-enn-ah"
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Oh . . . I've never heard it pronounced like thatIf you're pronouncing it like that, I don't like it at all - it just sounds like a bad feminisation of Rowan, rather than a name in its own right.
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I've never heard it pronounced Ro-enn-ah - always Row-een-a. I think if you choose an alternative pronunciation you are always going to have to explain to people how to say it so you are better choosing an alternative name or spelling it differently otherwise people will automoatically say Ro-ween-a.Saying that, I don't like the name, I think it's too dated and not that attractive. I do like Rowan though, but only for a boy.
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There was another post about this one time. The gist I got from it is that it's likely a Brit/Aussie vs U.S. In the U.S. both are acceptable pronunciations though it's true the WEEN pronunciation is probably more common. I have heard it both ways myself.
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