Names starting with R

Robin to Rowan.

1. Robin

   Gender-neutral

   From Robert to Robin. Robin began as a short form of Robert. It also names the bird, which took its name from the personal name.

   Bright fame. Through Robert, Robin carries the Germanic elements for “bright” and “fame.”

2. Rory

   Gender-neutral

   Rory and its Gaelic forms. Rory corresponds to Irish Ruaidhrí and Scottish Gaelic Ruairidh. In England and Wales in 2024, parents registered Rory for both boys and girls.†

   † Irish Ruaidhrí and Scottish Gaelic Ruairidh are distinct spellings. Their connection with Rory does not make their pronunciations identical.

   † This shows the name was used for both, not how often for each.

   Why you will find more than one meaning. One reading takes Ruaidhrí from Gaelic words for “red” and “king”. In 1923, Patrick Woulfe instead proposed a Norse-derived name meaning “fame-ruler”.†

   † Differing references do not mean scholars are evenly split between these readings.

3. Rowan

   Gender-neutral

   An Irish name, and a tree. Rowan is an English form of Irish Ruadhán. It can also be chosen for the rowan tree, whose English name came from a Scandinavian word.

   The Irish red connection. In the Irish name, ruadh means “red,” with a diminutive ending: the source of the reading “little red one.”