Charles
Male • Masculine
Origin: Germanic
Meaning: From the Germanic name Karl, which was derived from a Germanic word meaning “man”. However, an alternative theory states that it is derived from the common Germanic name element hari meaning “army, warrior”.
The popularity of the name in continental Europe was due to the fame of Charles the Great (742-814), commonly known as Charlemagne, a king of the Franks who came to rule over most of Europe. His grandfather Charles Martel had also been a noted leader of the Franks. It was subsequently the name of several Holy Roman emperors, as well as kings of France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Hungary (in various spellings). After Charlemagne, his name was adopted as a word meaning “king” in many Eastern European languages, for example Czech král, Hungarian király, Russian король (korol), and Turkish kral.
The name did not become common in Britain until the 17th century when it was borne by the Stuart king Charles I. It had been introduced into the Stuart royal family by Mary Queen of Scots, who had been raised in France.
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Rowe
Origin: English, Irish, Scottish
The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 brought many new words to England from which surnames were formed. Rowe was one of these new Norman names. It was specifically tailored to its first bearer, who was a person with red hair. Looking back even further, we found the name was originally derived from the Old French nickname le rous, meaning redhead. Further to the north in Scotland, the name has a different meaning, specifically “row, signifies a low, small, narrow peninsula.”
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