Cowans Surname

167,600th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 2,580 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Cayman Islands

Cowans Surname Definition:

Common surnames in Ayrshire, Dumfriesshire, and other Lowland counties. (1) Sometimes explained as from Scots cowan, a dry-stone-diker, but I doubt this explanation. (2) It may be a corruption of Colquhoun, the common pronunciation of which is Cohoon.

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Cowans Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,9521:185,68618,492
England3691:150,99714,419
Jamaica1101:26,0902,048
Canada501:736,91258,785
Australia321:843,61652,533
Scotland201:267,69112,985
Wales141:221,03813,576
Cuba101:1,152,2726,837
Colombia61:7,962,34523,614
Panama51:782,45211,059
Cayman Islands41:15,9731,430
Nepal11:28,480,95622,413
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
New Zealand11:4,528,32355,372
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
Ukraine11:45,522,696503,646
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England2731:89,2879,299
Scotland561:66,8434,009
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1241:404,98929,999

Cowans Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

Common surnames in Ayrshire, Dumfriesshire, and other Lowland counties. (1) Sometimes explained as from Scots cowan, a dry-stone-diker, but I doubt this explanation. (2) It may be a corruption of Colquhoun, the common pronunciation of which is Cohoon. Mr. Alexander Cowan, father of Sir John Cowan of Beeslack is said to have left on record that many of his grandfather's books bore the name of Colquhoun. (3) In the south Highlands the 'Mac' of Macillechomhghain disappears from the name and in Argyllshire, e.g. Iain MacComhain becomes Iain Comhan in Gaelic while the English equivalent is Cowan. Couen 1687. The name of James Cowhen, chaplain in North Berwick, 1560 (CMN.) is most likely from another source. There was an old family of Cowane in Stirling (The Stirling antiquary, v 2, p. 168—178). Cowan's Hospital in Stirling was founded in 1639 by John Cowan, a merchant there, for the support of twelve decayed Guild Brethren (Nimmo, History of Stirlingshire, 2. ed., l, p. 346).

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

Probably a corruption of Colban, an ancient Celtic name, since Colbanstoun in the S. of Scotl. was corrupted to Cowanstoun.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

A blacksmith.

The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames (1862) by Clifford Stanley Sims (1839-1896)

(Gaelic.) Gobhuinn, a smith; Gowan, a Scottish word for a wild flower.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

Cowans Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Cowans Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Cowans is more commonly found in The United States than any other country/territory. It may be rendered in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of this surname click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Cowans? popularity and diffusion

This last name is the 167,600th most frequently held surname worldwide It is held by approximately 1 in 2,824,630 people. This surname occurs mostly in The Americas, where 79 percent of Cowans are found; 74 percent are found in North America and 74 percent are found in Anglo-North America.

This last name is most numerous in The United States, where it is carried by 1,952 people, or 1 in 185,686. In The United States it is most frequent in: Ohio, where 8 percent are found, California, where 7 percent are found and Tennessee, where 6 percent are found. Barring The United States this surname is found in 18 countries. It is also found in England, where 14 percent are found and Jamaica, where 4 percent are found.

Cowans Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Cowans has changed over time. In The United States the number of people bearing the Cowans last name expanded 1,574 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it expanded 135 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Scotland it fell 64 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Cowans Last Name Statistics demography

In The United States those holding the Cowans surname are 6.63% more likely to be registered Democrats than The US average, with 59.86% being registered with the party.

The amount Cowans earn in different countries varies significantly. In Colombia they earn 6.53% more than the national average, earning $24,185,300 COP per year; in United States they earn 19.14% less than the national average, earning $34,891 USD per year and in Canada they earn 5.39% more than the national average, earning $52,361 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Cowains928/
Chowanns861/
Cowens83920/
Covans8310/
Cobans834/
Cowams831/
Cuwans831/
Cowons830/
Cowance771/
Ciobans771/
Chovans770/
Chowance713/
Couvains711/
Cavens67629/
Covens67337/
Kowanz6771/
Cabans6720/
Kowens6711/
Cavans675/
Kobans672/
Cavons672/
Cobons671/
Kovans671/
Cabons670/
Cuvons670/
Cubans670/
Kewans670/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Cowans
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis