Rowena
Rowena was given to 32 girls in 2025, #4,440 among girls’ names; 10,526 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 4,370 Americans named Rowena and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (42% of everyone recorded); the median is 64 years old and half are between 47 and 75.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Rowena by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Rowena mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Rowena is “a female given name from the Germanic languages.”
From the name of the daughter of Hengist and wife of Vortigern in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s 12th century pseudohistorical Latin work Historia regum Britanniae. There have been attempts to connect it to some unattested Old English or Common Brittonic name, but without any real evidence. It was revived after Walter Scott used it in his novel Ivanhoe (1819).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Rowena?
#4,440 among girls’ names, 2025
Rowena rose from #9,379 in 2015 to #4,440 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 6.7 to 19.9 per million.
224 babies in 1917, the peak
Rowena peaked in 1917, when 224 girls were given it, #429 among girls’ names. The 32 births of 2025 are 14% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 32 | #4,440 | 0.02 |
| 2024 | 48 | #3,327 | 0.03 |
| 2023 | 37 | #4,029 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 39 | #3,879 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 33 | #4,306 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 51 | #3,130 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 28 | #4,878 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 29 | #4,749 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 22 | #5,788 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 19 | #6,623 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 12 | #9,379 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 14 | #8,403 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 11 | #10,119 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 11 | #10,290 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 15 | #8,120 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 7 | #14,664 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 14 | #8,790 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 12 | #9,955 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 10 | #11,459 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 15 | #8,153 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 18 | #6,755 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 14 | #8,140 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 6 | #15,360 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 12 | #8,718 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 11 | #9,228 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 15 | #7,075 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 13 | #7,616 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 17 | #6,007 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 16 | #6,102 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 19 | #5,236 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 11 | #7,951 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 10 | #8,639 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 16 | #5,875 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 18 | #5,420 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 22 | #4,605 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 21 | #4,647 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 24 | #4,092 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 27 | #3,556 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 24 | #3,710 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 35 | #2,763 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 38 | #2,581 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 41 | #2,367 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 47 | #2,124 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 52 | #2,017 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 44 | #2,293 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 59 | #1,860 | 0.04 |
| 1979 | 56 | #1,894 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 47 | #2,039 | 0.03 |
| 1977 | 56 | #1,824 | 0.04 |
| 1976 | 54 | #1,771 | 0.04 |
| 1975 | 61 | #1,621 | 0.04 |
| 1974 | 45 | #1,931 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 58 | #1,602 | 0.04 |
| 1972 | 58 | #1,588 | 0.04 |
| 1971 | 76 | #1,403 | 0.05 |
| 1970 | 55 | #1,696 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 49 | #1,750 | 0.03 |
| 1968 | 64 | #1,415 | 0.04 |
| 1967 | 80 | #1,192 | 0.05 |
| 1966 | 75 | #1,250 | 0.04 |
| 1965 | 91 | #1,106 | 0.05 |
| 1964 | 99 | #1,101 | 0.05 |
| 1963 | 122 | #963 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 143 | #883 | 0.07 |
| 1961 | 126 | #962 | 0.06 |
| 1960 | 111 | #1,023 | 0.05 |
| 1959 | 128 | #927 | 0.06 |
| 1958 | 107 | #1,005 | 0.05 |
| 1957 | 136 | #875 | 0.07 |
| 1956 | 122 | #910 | 0.06 |
| 1955 | 135 | #836 | 0.07 |
| 1954 | 161 | #728 | 0.08 |
| 1953 | 153 | #738 | 0.08 |
| 1952 | 114 | #865 | 0.06 |
| 1951 | 114 | #838 | 0.06 |
| 1950 | 98 | #896 | 0.06 |
| 1949 | 89 | #946 | 0.05 |
| 1948 | 85 | #947 | 0.05 |
| 1947 | 113 | #827 | 0.06 |
| 1946 | 107 | #799 | 0.07 |
| 1945 | 89 | #801 | 0.07 |
| 1944 | 99 | #770 | 0.07 |
| 1943 | 124 | #684 | 0.09 |
| 1942 | 109 | #715 | 0.08 |
| 1941 | 120 | #649 | 0.10 |
| 1940 | 121 | #643 | 0.11 |
| 1939 | 140 | #570 | 0.13 |
| 1938 | 157 | #546 | 0.14 |
| 1937 | 136 | #581 | 0.13 |
| 1936 | 122 | #598 | 0.12 |
| 1935 | 122 | #590 | 0.12 |
| 1934 | 168 | #499 | 0.16 |
| 1933 | 139 | #540 | 0.14 |
| 1932 | 179 | #494 | 0.17 |
| 1931 | 159 | #522 | 0.15 |
| 1930 | 159 | #540 | 0.14 |
| 1929 | 177 | #509 | 0.16 |
| 1928 | 157 | #563 | 0.14 |
| 1927 | 171 | #543 | 0.14 |
| 1926 | 162 | #560 | 0.14 |
| 1925 | 170 | #551 | 0.14 |
| 1924 | 165 | #569 | 0.13 |
| 1923 | 188 | #510 | 0.16 |
| 1922 | 181 | #522 | 0.15 |
| 1921 | 209 | #477 | 0.17 |
| 1920 | 194 | #495 | 0.16 |
| 1919 | 200 | #471 | 0.18 |
| 1918 | 175 | #527 | 0.15 |
| 1917 | 224 | #429 | 0.21 |
| 1916 | 165 | #510 | 0.16 |
| 1915 | 182 | #459 | 0.18 |
| 1914 | 136 | #469 | 0.18 |
| 1913 | 119 | #459 | 0.19 |
| 1912 | 96 | #490 | 0.17 |
| 1911 | 60 | #547 | 0.14 |
| 1910 | 55 | #558 | 0.14 |
| 1909 | 52 | #528 | 0.15 |
| 1908 | 54 | #499 | 0.16 |
| 1907 | 41 | #579 | 0.13 |
| 1906 | 46 | #513 | 0.16 |
| 1905 | 27 | #695 | 0.09 |
| 1904 | 43 | #506 | 0.16 |
| 1903 | 27 | #651 | 0.10 |
| 1902 | 37 | #536 | 0.14 |
| 1901 | 37 | #507 | 0.15 |
| 1900 | 42 | #523 | 0.14 |
| 1899 | 38 | #478 | 0.16 |
| 1898 | 32 | #579 | 0.12 |
| 1897 | 34 | #507 | 0.15 |
| 1896 | 43 | #447 | 0.18 |
| 1895 | 41 | #451 | 0.18 |
| 1894 | 33 | #503 | 0.15 |
| 1893 | 41 | #429 | 0.19 |
| 1892 | 32 | #487 | 0.15 |
| 1891 | 32 | #455 | 0.17 |
| 1890 | 28 | #497 | 0.15 |
| 1889 | 17 | #638 | 0.10 |
| 1888 | 19 | #592 | 0.11 |
| 1887 | 27 | #432 | 0.18 |
| 1886 | 18 | #536 | 0.12 |
| 1885 | 20 | #483 | 0.15 |
| 1884 | 19 | #476 | 0.15 |
| 1883 | 13 | #558 | 0.12 |
| 1882 | 13 | #526 | 0.12 |
| 1881 | 6 | #807 | 0.07 |
| 1880 | 8 | #670 | 0.09 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Rowena a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Rowena has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 146 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Rowena: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Rowena, and how old are they?
4,370 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 42% of the 10,526 Americans ever recorded as Rowena. The median Rowena alive today is 64 years old; half are between 47 and 75.
The 2020 Census counted 9,883 people named Rowena (9,876 women and girls, 7 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 4,875 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.0 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 666 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,760 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 910 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 435 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 204 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 373 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Rowena born?
The states with the most babies named Rowena are California, Texas and Ohio, with 31% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 743 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Texas | 468 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 415 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| New York | 394 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Illinois | 313 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Missouri | 308 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Hawaii | 299 | not ranked | 7.8× |
| Oklahoma | 262 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Louisiana | 236 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Indiana | 235 | not ranked | 0.9× |
Where Rowena is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Rowena is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1910 it was given 7.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Rowena with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 10,668 babies since 1880, Rowena is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 32 of their 32 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Rowena
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Rowena and names like it
- Compare Rowena and RoweneBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sRowena peaked in 1917.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Rowena since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Rowena: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1917The year the most babies were named Rowena.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Rowena alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with RMost given first.