Surname Rowden - Meaning and Origin
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Rowden: What does the surname Rowden mean?
Rowden is an English surname which is derived from habitational origins. It comes from an Old English pre-7th-century term "ruh denu", where "ruh" means rough or overgrown and "denu" means valley, hence the name would denote someone residing by the rough valley. Over time, the term evolved into "Rowden" becoming a family name. Variations of this surname include Rowdon, Rouden, and Roudon, commonly found across English-speaking countries. Like other surnames, it does not have a symbolic meaning but is more indicative of geographical origins. Often, individuals with the name Rowden can trace their lineage back to Devon and Somerset regions of South West England where the name was prominent during Mid-Late Middle Ages.
Order DNA origin analysisRowden: Where does the name Rowden come from?
The last name Rowden is quite a common name throughout the world. In the United States, the name is particularly popular in the Midwest region with over 1,700 Rowdens inhabiting places such as Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana. The states of California and Texas also have sizable populations of the last name.
In the United Kingdom, the Rowden name is most prevalent in the London area with nearly 700 Rowdens living there and in other parts of England. Scotland also has a notable amount of the last name, as do other parts of Britain.
Additionally, Rowden is quite common throughout Australia and New Zealand. The last name even pops up in countries such as Canada, South Africa, and Mexico.
Furthermore, certain descendents of the Rowden family even live in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is also possible that you’ll find individuals with the Rowden last name distributed across the world due to emigration of family members.
Overall, the last name Rowden has a sizeable population throughout several nations in the world. Due to the frequency of emigration and marriage, it is likely that these populations will continue to grow.
Variations of the surname Rowden
The surname Rowden is derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century words 'hrod' and 'denu' meaning a clearing in the woods. Variants of the surname, as well as alternate spellings and connected surnames, include Rodden, Ruadhan, Ruddan, Ruddon, Rowson, Roweson, Rouen, Rown, Rowney, Rowin, Roon, and Rownm.
Rodden is the most common spelling variant of the surname; the spelling could have been altered due to linguistics in which the sound of a ‘d’ or ‘t’ following an ‘r’ was lessened or even dropped, leading to a change in spelling.
The Rodan surname is also of the same origin. Rodan is likely a corrupted form of Rowden, borne as a variant and connected surname. It also could have been an Anglicization of the Gaelic name MacRothain.
The abruptness of the vowel in the name, R’an, was removed to pronounce and spell it as Rowan. In addition to being a variant spelling of Rowden, Rowan is a surname in its own right, derived from the Scotland and Ireland name for the mountain ash tree.
Rouen is a French variant of the surname which likely indicates foreign ancestry in the individual's past. The surname can also take the French form Rowain, the Alsatian form Rowen, and the German form Ruwend.
The spelling variants Rowin and Roon are Dutch variants of the surname.
Rowney is another variant of Rowden, which is likely derived by the swapping of the ‘d’ and the ‘y’ in Rowden, as well as the lengthening of the ‘o’.
Famous people with the name Rowden
- Sophie Rowden, British actress.
- Cynthia Rowden, Canadian politician.
- Dan Rowden, Australian Actor.
- Rod Rowden, American actor and director.
- Rob Rowden, American singer-songwriter.
- Jack Rowden, British actor.
- Kenneth Rowden, American physicist.
- Jonathon Rowden, British sound engineer.
- Joana Rowden, Australian film actress.
- George Rowden, British sculptor.
- Warren Rowden, British painter.
- Mike Rowden, English professional soccer player.
- Emma Rowden, British singer-songwriter.
- Sam Rowden, British television actor.
- Hugh Rowden, British journalist.
- Ken Rowden, American former football coach.
- Robert Rowden, Canadian politician.
- Riccardo Rowden, American actor.
- Michael Rowden, English former professional football player.
- David Rowden, English former football player.