Thirty years of Rowan
Rowan in numbers
Rowan is still climbing: from 172 boys in 1996 to 1,398 in 2025, its highest count so far. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2022 and 2025, from 985 to 1,398. It ranked 188th in 1996 and reached 30th in 2025, its best place so far. On average it was given to 203 boys a year in the late 1990s, 292 in the 2000s, 560 in the 2010s and 1,072 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
Similar spellings in the 2025 list†: Rowen (43), Rawen (8), Rwan (6), Rawan (4). Matched by their letters, not by meaning or origin. ONS counts each spelling separately, so these are not added to Rowan.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year+12%1,246 to 1,398
- 5 years+81%774 to 1,398
- 10 years+144%572 to 1,398
- 20 years+334%322 to 1,398
- Since 1996×8172 to 1,398
- Total, 1996 to 202515,769boys
† All changes and totals are Baby Data calculations from ONS counts. A total adds only the published years.
Across the three nations, 2025
Each from its own statistics office, never added togetherRank 30 · ONS · 1,246 in 2024
Rank 47 · NRS · 78 in 2024
Rank 30 · NISRA · 45 in 2024
England and Wales (ONS) count births in the calendar year; Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland (NISRA) count births registered in the year. Each comes from its own statistics office and they are never added together.
Year by year, 1996 to 2025 Show all 30 yearsHide the table
| Year | Rank | Babies | Change† | 1 in X† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 30 | 1,398 | +12% | 1 in 215 |
| 2024 | 41 | 1,246 | +14% | 1 in 245 |
| 2023 | 51 | 1,093 | +11% | 1 in 277 |
| 2022 | 61 | 985 | +5% | 1 in 315 |
| 2021 | 63 | 938 | +21% | 1 in 341 |
| 2020 | 71 | 774 | +5% | 1 in 406 |
| 2019 | 82 | 734 | +4% | 1 in 448 |
| 2018 | =89 | 708 | +13% | 1 in 477 |
| 2017 | 103 | 626 | +1% | 1 in 556 |
| 2016 * | =105 | 619 | +8% | 1 in 575 |
| 2015 | 111 | 572 | +14% | 1 in 626 |
| 2014 | 127 | 502 | +2% | 1 in 711 |
| 2013 | =123 | 494 | +10% | 1 in 725 |
| 2012 | 137 | 449 | -5% | 1 in 834 |
| 2011 | 135 | 473 | +12% | 1 in 784 |
| 2010 | 142 | 423 | +18% | 1 in 877 |
| 2009 | =155 | 357 | -2% | 1 in 1,014 |
| 2008 | 149 | 366 | -2% | 1 in 992 |
| 2007 | =143 | 374 | +14% | 1 in 948 |
| 2006 | 150 | 329 | +2% | 1 in 1,041 |
| 2005 | =147 | 322 | +10% | 1 in 1,027 |
| 2004 | 155 | 293 | +14% | 1 in 1,121 |
| 2003 | 163 | 257 | +25% | 1 in 1,239 |
| 2002 | =177 | 205 | -2% | 1 in 1,493 |
| 2001 | =170 | 210 | +0% | 1 in 1,451 |
| 2000 | =169 | 209 | -12% | 1 in 1,481 |
| 1999 | =147 | 237 | +6% | 1 in 1,347 |
| 1998 | 155 | 224 | +24% | 1 in 1,455 |
| 1997 | 181 | 180 | +5% | 1 in 1,831 |
| 1996 | =188 | 172 | 1 in 1,939 |
* ONS’s boys’ 2016 file repeats the October total as September, so the 2016 births total is about 932 too low and 1 in X for 2016 is slightly too low. Rank follows ONS: names with the same count share a rank (shown with =). “Under 3” means the name was given to fewer than 3 babies that year, so ONS did not publish it.
Compare Rowan
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Rowan is in the free dataset (CSV and JSON), with the method and how to cite it.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; National Records of Scotland; NISRA. Exact spellings are counted separately and names given to fewer than 3 babies are not published. Figures marked † are Baby Data calculations. How we calculate
Rowan is in our lists: Nature baby names, Gender-neutral baby names.