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Rowan
Rowan... what do you all think of this name? Is it better for a boy or a girl? I personally prefer it as a girls name but I want to minimize possible confusion... Can anyone suggest possible name combinations?
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I think of Rowan Atkinson, and of Rowanne, the female character from the "Prince Valiant" series. The name is unisex to me. :)
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I like it quite a bit but only for a boy.
~Heather~
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I LOVE it, but as a boys' name. I'm a bit frustrated to see it popping up as a girls' name so often, but to each their own, I suppose. I just fear that by the time I'm able to use it on a little boy (at least 7-8 years from now) it'll be too much of a girls' name to use comfortably.
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I used to hate this name, but I like it now. I'd never use it though, since I have other names I like better. I much prefer it for a boy, it seems to masculine sounding for a girl. This name always makes me think of Rowan Atkinson, as a previous poster also said.
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I think of Rowan AtkinsonWe've seen a lot of his shows in Sweden (Mr Bean, Black Adder etc). So to me the name is strictly male. And even though Mr Atkinson certainly does not seem romantic, I think Rowan is a romantic name.To me, it seems that using Rowan for a girl, is distroying it for boys. I think it is a pity. Only the most boring or ugly names are safe for boys.I think Rowena is much better for a girl. It is clearly feminine. But it seems people don't want such names for girls, they prefer more unisex (and after a while they are not unisex but feminine)."But it’s all right now.
I learned my lesson well.
You see you can’t please everyone
So you got to please yourself."
Rick Nelson, GardenParty"It does not become me to make myself smaller than I am." (Edith Södergran 1891-1923)

This message was edited 4/10/2006, 3:19 PM

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I love Rowan for both sexes, slightly more so for a girl. It reminds me of the fabulous Rowan Atkinson :-)I like it paired with very feminine middle names, or very masculine in the case of a boy:Rowan Angelina
Rowan Bethany
Rowan Eliana
Rowan Emmeline
Rowan Henrietta
Rowan Imelda
Rowan Louisa
Rowan Christabelle
Rowan OliviaRowan Jeremy
Rowan Geoffrey
Rowan Osborne
Rowan Nathaniel
Rowan Lewis
Rowan Dominick
Rowan Malcolm_____________________________________________________________________Elinor
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I like it. It's one of the few names I like equally on both genders.
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Rowan is one of my favorites for a boy, but it is not my style for a girl.
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Rowan sounds much better on boy. It simply falls flat on a girl in my opinion.Plus, I think of Rowan Atkinson.
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ditto
- chazda
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I prefer Rowan for a boy but it works fine for a girl too

Paula

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Brooke Shield's daughter is named Rowan Francis; Francis is spelled this way because her father's name was Francis, and he had recently passed away before Brooke gave birth to Rowan. I kind of like this name; it's different, but not too "out there" so that the kid would get teased. I think I like it better for a girl, but that's just my opinion. There's an actor named Rowan Atkinson who played "Mr. Bean", a show that was produced in England.
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That's funny. I was just suggesting boy combinations in my response. I had typed in Rowan Francis, but I didn't want confusion with the girl's name Frances, so I erased it. I don't fault Ms. S. for using a family name. It just adds to the gender confusion, though.
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Thanks for the ideas... The reason I asked was because one of my best friends is considering it for a girl. I had never really thought of it as a particularly feminine name before but I think that it works well for both genders. I also told her that if she used that as a girls name she might encounter some Row-anne pronounciation. But yes, when she told me of this name my first thought was of Rowan Atkinson or Rowan and Martin. She was thinking of using: Rowan Kathleen
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