MacGowan Surname
Approximately 2,077 people bear this surname
MacGowan Surname Definition:
Gaelic Mac a ghobhainn or Mac Ghobhainn, 'son of the smith.' MacGowan is the name of an old Stirling family. Forms two to four, found in the Glasgow directory, may be Irish. Gilcallum McGoun had a precept of remission for rapine and other crimes on the lands of the abbot of Cupar, 1503 (RSS.
Read More About This SurnameMacGowan Surname Distribution Map
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 718 | 1:504,817 | 42,410 |
| Canada | 385 | 1:95,703 | 10,417 |
| England | 315 | 1:176,883 | 16,062 |
| Ireland | 239 | 1:19,703 | 2,052 |
| Australia | 182 | 1:148,328 | 15,783 |
| Scotland | 108 | 1:49,572 | 4,299 |
| South Africa | 29 | 1:1,868,197 | 87,346 |
| New Zealand | 18 | 1:251,574 | 23,165 |
| Northern Ireland | 17 | 1:108,532 | 6,545 |
| Argentina | 15 | 1:2,849,561 | 122,961 |
| Germany | 8 | 1:10,063,182 | 283,807 |
| France | 6 | 1:11,070,454 | 349,096 |
| Honduras | 6 | 1:1,469,407 | 5,474 |
| India | 5 | 1:153,413,076 | 951,030 |
| Mexico | 5 | 1:24,825,241 | 58,251 |
| Wales | 4 | 1:773,633 | 29,106 |
| Oman | 2 | 1:1,843,986 | 9,590 |
| Brazil | 2 | 1:107,037,166 | 1,031,150 |
| Spain | 2 | 1:23,376,018 | 128,922 |
| South Korea | 1 | 1:51,240,256 | 8,015 |
| Belgium | 1 | 1:11,496,644 | 167,539 |
| United Arab Emirates | 1 | 1:9,162,273 | 135,437 |
| Thailand | 1 | 1:70,638,345 | 1,175,915 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 1:8,212,915 | 156,297 |
| Ecuador | 1 | 1:15,905,846 | 50,210 |
| Italy | 1 | 1:61,156,688 | 199,583 |
| Portugal | 1 | 1:10,418,241 | 25,048 |
| Norway | 1 | 1:5,142,286 | 129,201 |
| Malaysia | 1 | 1:29,494,225 | 409,885 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1:16,887,176 | 156,465 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 30 | 1:147,662 | 8,013 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 18 | 1:2,789,927 | 129,797 |
MacGowan Surname Meaning
From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history
Gaelic Mac a ghobhainn or Mac Ghobhainn, 'son of the smith.' MacGowan is the name of an old Stirling family. Forms two to four, found in the Glasgow directory, may be Irish. Gilcallum McGoun had a precept of remission for rapine and other crimes on the lands of the abbot of Cupar, 1503 (RSS., I, 953). Gilbert Makgowin, a follower of the earl of Cassilis, was respited for murder in 1526 (ibid., 3386). William McGown in Pitcalny, a follower of Ross of Pitcalny, 1592 (RPC., V, p. 31). Murchie McGowy or Muithie McGowne in Fanmoir, Mull, was put to horn in 1629 (RPC., 2 ser. II, p. 341; III, p. 45). Alister McGhowin, an engager on royalist side, in parish of Urray, 1649 (IDR., p. 368). Alexander M'Gowne was retoured heir in the lands of Langlandes of Lochanes in the territory of Dumfries, 1672 (Retours, Dumfries, 270), Margaret M'Goune was retoured heir of Alexander M'Goune, merchant in Dumfries, 1682 (Retours, Kirkcudbright, 344), and Alexander McGowne and Abraham McGoune were residents in the parish of Borgue, 1684 (RPC,, 3. ser. IX, p. 566-567). Macgoun 1703; M'Gouan, Makgowane, M'Govin.
(2) in the reign of David 11 there was a clan M'Gowan, probably located somewhere on the river Nith, whose chiefship was adjudged to Donald Edzear (RMS., I, App II, 982). This Edzear was a descendant of Dunegal of Stranith (Nithsdale), whose seat was at Morton, Dumfriesshire, about the beginning of the twelfth century. The name here may indicate descent from Owen the Bald (the Eugenius Calvin of Simeon of Durham), king of the Strathclyde Britons, who was killed in 1018.
Mac an Ghabhann, Mac Gabhann In Co.
Cavan, the homeland of this sept, the name has been widely changed by translation to Smith (though Smithson would be a truer translation); but in outlying areas of Breffny MacGowan is retained. IF 22*, 164; Map Cavan
(Celtic) Son of the Smith [Irish and Gaelic Mac Gobhan] Cp. Gow.
“Son of the Smith” (Mac Ghobhainn) in Gaelic.
(Irish, Scottish) The son of the smith or worker in metals.
Contracted from Mac-an-Gabhain, 'The Smith’s Son'.
The smith in olden times was a very important personage, as being the maker of armour and weapons, and since this trade, like others in that day, descended from father to son, its designation would soon become used as a surname.
'Maelbrighde Mac-an-Ghobhann', a.d. 1061.
Henry Gawen was 'Atturney' in 1517.
MacGowan Demographics
MacGowan Religious Adherence
in Ireland
Religious Adherence
in Ireland
MacGowan Last Name Facts
Where Does The Last Name MacGowan Come From? nationality or country of origin
MacGowan occurs more in The United States more than any other country or territory. It can be found in the variant forms:. Click here for other possible spellings of this name.
How Common Is The Last Name MacGowan? popularity and diffusion
The last name MacGowan is the 200,834th most frequently occurring surname at a global level. It is borne by around 1 in 3,508,688 people. The surname MacGowan is predominantly found in The Americas, where 54 percent of MacGowan reside; 53 percent reside in North America and 51 percent reside in Anglo-North America.
It is most frequent in The United States, where it is held by 718 people, or 1 in 504,817. In The United States it is most common in: California, where 14 percent live, New York, where 11 percent live and Florida, where 9 percent live. Other than The United States MacGowan exists in 29 countries. It also occurs in Canada, where 19 percent live and England, where 15 percent live.
MacGowan Family Population Trend historical fluctuation
The prevalency of MacGowan has changed over time. In The United States the share of the population with the surname grew 3,989 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in Ireland it grew 797 percent between 1901 and 2014.
MacGowan Last Name Statistics demography
The religious adherence of those holding the MacGowan last name is chiefly Catholic (47%) in Ireland.
In The United States those bearing the MacGowan surname are 0.48% more likely to be registered with the Democratic Party than The US average, with 52.75% being registered with the party.
The amount MacGowan earn in different countries varies significantly. In South Africa they earn 6.78% less than the national average, earning R 221,532 per year; in United States they earn 16.12% more than the national average, earning $50,106 USD per year and in Canada they earn 20.14% more than the national average, earning $59,687 CAD per year.
Phonetically Similar Names
| Surname | Similarity | Worldwide Incidence | Prevalency |
|---|---|---|---|
| McGowan | 93 | 64,248 | / |
| Magowan | 93 | 2,547 | / |
| Magowane | 88 | 33 | / |
| MacGawan | 88 | 2 | / |
| Maggowan | 88 | 1 | / |
| Makgowane | 82 | 25 | / |
| Magowaine | 82 | 0 | / |
| Magawan | 80 | 25 | / |
| Maguwan | 80 | 10 | / |
| Mogowan | 80 | 7 | / |
| Magoban | 80 | 2 | / |
| Magovan | 80 | 1 | / |
| Mogowane | 75 | 492 | / |
| Magawane | 75 | 97 | / |
| Magawang | 75 | 14 | / |
| Magovane | 75 | 7 | / |
| Maguwane | 75 | 2 | / |
| Mongowan | 75 | 1 | / |
| Mangovan | 75 | 0 | / |
| Makgawane | 71 | 2 | / |
| Mogohwane | 71 | 1 | / |
| Mogawan | 67 | 363 | / |
| Mogovan | 67 | 143 | / |
| MacGabhann | 67 | 141 | / |
| Magavan | 67 | 12 | / |
| Magabon | 67 | 11 | / |
| Magobon | 67 | 10 | / |
| Mangawahan | 67 | 7 | / |
| MacGabhain | 67 | 1 | / |
| Maguwam | 67 | 1 | / |
| Maguban | 67 | 1 | / |
| McGuvan | 67 | 0 | / |
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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 MacGowan
- To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on FamilySearch, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis