Rowan
A surname that can come either from the red-haired nickname or from a place or sign by a rowan tree.
The #2,581 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 22,064 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name has more than one possible source. In Irish and Gaelic, it may come from ruadh, meaning “red,” with a diminutive ending, so it could have been a nickname for someone with red hair or a ruddy complexion. In English and Scots usage, it may also be locational, referring to someone who lived near a rowan tree, also called mountain-ash; some older writers connect it with Scandinavian forms for the same tree.
History
19th-century surname writers were not fully in agreement about Rowan, and some thought it could be confused with Roe. In Scotland and northern England, it is also tied to local place-names and farm names near rowan trees, which may explain some families. The name is well established in both the British Isles and the Irish diaspora.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The rowan tree was traditionally thought to have protective powers in parts of the British Isles, which may have helped make it a memorable surname source.
From the historical record
“confusion with Roe, q.v. ROWAN (Celt.) Red, Red-Haired [Ir. and Gael. Ruadhan {dh mute) — ruadh, red -|- the dim. sufT. -dn} (Scand.) Dweller at the Rowan-Tree (Mountain-Ash) [Dial. Norw. raM« = Dan.- Norw. rdn{ne = O.N. reyni-rl ROWAN D = Rowan (q,v.) with common post-» -d. ROWAT l the French Rouat (v. under Row(e”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)