The story behind Rowena
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). Some places are named after Lady Rowena in the novel.
Pronunciation
US English (ARPAbet): R OW0 IY1 N AH0
This is a US English dictionary reading of the spelling; personal pronunciations may differ. Digits mark stress: 0 is unstressed, 1 is primary, 2 is secondary. Pronunciation source and notation.
Popularity
Rowena ranked #4441 in US for 2025.
Source: SSA national baby names
Names Similar to Rowena
Roberta
By surface analysis, Robert + -a.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Rolanda
Roland with feminine suffix?
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Adela
Latinate form of French Adèle, short form of Germanic compound names beginning with Proto-Germanic *aþalaz (“noble”). Compare Old English æþele, English athel. Borrowed from…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Alberta
From Albert + -a. The province was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta. Learned borrowing from Latin Alberta.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Aliina
Variant of Alina.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Aliisa
From French Alice.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Middle Names for Rowena
Baldwin
From Proto-West Germanic *Balþawini, from Proto-Germanic *Balþawiniz (“bold friend”).
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Bernard
Inherited from Middle English Bernard, from Old French Bernard, Bernart, from Medieval Latin Bernardus, probably from Frankish *Bernhard (cognate with Old High German Bernhart,…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends D
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Bertram
From Proto-Germanic *berhtaz (“bright”) + *hrabnaz (“raven”). a male given name from the Germanic languages, equivalent to English Bertram
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends M
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Sibling Names for Rowena
Abelard
From French Abélard, an extension of the Abel with an Germanic suffix -(h)ard. Possibly also regarded a variant of the German Eberhard "boar" + "hard", equivalent to English…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends D
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Adel
Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *aþalaz. The female name is a rare variant of Adele. The surname is borrowed from German Adel. Variant of Adil, from Arabic عَادِل (ʕādil).
- Gender
- mixed
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends L
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Adél
From French Adèle.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends L
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length