We have decided on [name]Elijah[/name] [name]Rowan[/name], but after reading many opinions I’m torn between the spelling it “[name]Rowan[/name]” or “[name]Rohan[/name]” (both pronounced ro-an).
I like [name]Rowan[/name] for being Irish/Scottish (my grandma’s from [name]Ireland[/name]) and more recognizable, but I like [name]Rohan[/name] for being unmistakeably masculine as well as for having the silent ‘h’ which pairs nicely with [name]Rhodes[/name]. The LOTR significance of [name]Rohan[/name] doesn’t bother us.
I much prefer [name]Rowan[/name], as I was unsure of the pronunciation of [name]Rohan[/name]. I would have said [name]RO[/name]-hawn. I’m guessing many others (perhaps not Nameberry users, but other family and friends) would experience the same confusion over how to say it. I agree that [name]Rohan[/name] looks undeniably masculine, but nobody would see only his middle name anyway, and if they were to see [name]Rowan[/name] paired with [name]Elijah[/name], they would know that it is a boy. [name]Rowan[/name] doesn’t necessarily look feminine; it looks very unisex, and I think it looks great with the very strong and manly-looking [name]Elijah[/name].
I agree that [name]Rohan[/name] would likely be mispronounced. I know that you said that the LOTR connection doesn’t bother you, but you’ve got a double connection in [name]Elijah[/name] ([name]Wood[/name]) [name]Rohan[/name]. The first thing I thought (before making my way through your whole post) was: hmm, must be LOTR fans.
I think [name]Rowan[/name] is unisex, but skewing strongly toward the masculine, so it gets my vote.
[name]Roan[/name] is another possibility, but I think you’d likely have people pronounce it ‘rone’ instead of ‘ro-an’.
I like both, but love [name]Rowan[/name]. [name]Rowan[/name] is still very masculine and more people use it on boys than girls. I also like [name]Roan[/name]. I just love the name period! I would pick [name]Rowan[/name] because I love it the most!
I prefer [name]Rowan[/name]. I don’t like [name]Rohan[/name] with [name]Rhodes[/name]. [name]Elijah[/name] [name]Rohan[/name] [name]Rhodes[/name] has way too many h’s.
Thank you very much for your replies. I totally didn’t even see the [name]Elijah[/name] + [name]Rohan[/name] double LOTR reference, lol, but now that it’s been pointed out, yikes! I prefer [name]Rowan[/name] myself, and I’m happy to see so many others do as well. That’s what we’ll go with. Thanks again.