🔥Rowena

ro-WEE-na

Welsh

"white spear; famous friend; fame and joy"

Rowena Origin and Meaning

The name Rowena is a girl's name of English, Welsh origin meaning "white spear; famous friend; fame and joy".

A fabled storybook name via the heroine of Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe (1819), which featured a heroine called Rowena of Hargottstanstede, and also a Harry Potter name, as Rowena Ravenclaw, founder of one of the Hogwarts houses, Rowena is a retro feeling choice with literary charm.

While the exact origin of the name is unknown, it is mentioned by the 12th-century chronicler, Geoffrey of Monmouth, who suggests it was the name of a Saxon chief. As such, it may combine the Old English elements hroð meaning "fame", with either wynn or wine meaning "joy" and "friend" respectively. An alternative possibility is that is blends the Welsh gwen ("white, fair, blessed") with ron ("spear").

While it might be perceived today as a spin-off of Rowan and Rowen, the pronunciation, however, is not like the popular nature name with an a at the end, but with a long e and an emphasis on the middle syllable. She was on the popularity list in the US until 1963 and spent several years in the Top 500 in the early 20th century, while in the UK, she ranked until the 2000s.

The Welsh variation Rhonwen is used in Welsh literature as a personification of the English people, while Rowina and Rowenna are spelling alternatives, the latter likely to give you the ro-WEHN-uh sound.

Rowena Rank in US Top 1000

# 961 in the US

Rowena Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 304 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Rowena

• 304 Nameberry 2025

20 Names Similar to Rowena

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Rowena.

• Marceline
• Allegra
• Lavinia
• Odessa
• Petra
• Lenore
• Verity
• Cressida
• Theodosia
• Marcella
• Cosima
• Guinevere
• Leonora
• Althea
• Seraphine
• Cosette
• Isadora
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Famous People Named Rowena

• Rowena Cooper Zimbabwean,British actress
• Rowena Othlie Jackson New Zealand ballerina
• Rowena Fischer Meeks Abdy American painter
• Rowena Moore American civil rights activist
• Rowena A. Morrill American illustrator
• Rowena Wallace Australian actress
• Rowena Evelyn Webster Australian Olympic water polo player
• Rowena Tsai American YouTuber
• Rowena Fulham New Zealand footballer
• Rowena Granice Steele American actress and novelist
• Rowena Josephine King English actress
• Rowena Bradley Cherokee (Native American) basket,weaver
• Rowena Alissa Kennett Thai VJ

The name Rowena in Pop Culture

• Rowena of Hargottstandstede character in "Ivanhoe" by Sir Walter Scott
• Rowena Trevanion character in "Ligeia" by Edgar Allan Poe
• Rowena Ravenclaw founder of one of the four Hogwarts houses in the Harry Potter series
• Rowena Morgan character in "Mr. Holland's Opus"
• Rowena Greene character in "Once a Witch" by Carolyn McCullough
• Rowena duchess character in "Barbie in the Twelve Dancing Princesses"
• Rowena character in "Supernatural"
• Rowena wife of King Vortigern in British legend
• Rowena character in Kevin Crossley,Holland's "Gatty's Tale"