McGowan explained
McGowan is an Irish and Scottish surname. It is an Anglicization of the Irish Mac Gabhann and Scottish Mac Gobhann, both of which mean 'son of (the) smith'.[1] Belonging to the Uí Echach Cobo, located in modern-day western County Down, Ulster, they were of the same stock as the McGuinness clan.[2]
Meaning
As noted further in the source by John O'Hart, though not an occupational surname, MacGowan evolves as an Anglicisation of the original Gaelic language personal description or nickname gobha, meaning "blacksmith". For this reason, the surnames of some septs of the MacGowan are alternately anglicised to Smythe or Smith. The surname MacGowan, therefore, translates from Gaelic language to English language as "son of (the) smith".
Scottish origins
In Scotland, Mac an Ghobhain was anglicized to MacGowan. Mac Gobha, later McGow, was also made MacGowan. As the maker of arms and armour, the smith was an important hereditary position in each clan and there were MacGowans, or MacGouns, found throughout the Highlands. The two most important septs, however, were the MacGowans of Clan Donald (only to be found in Antrim and South Uist) and those of Clan MacPherson.
There was also an Irish-Scot Clan MacGowan recorded in fourteenth-century Nithsdale in Dumfriesshire. The Irish origins of this clan suggest that the Scottish Clan MacGowan may descend from the same eponymous ancestor as those in Ireland who bear the name, with the Scottish branch of the clan having fled to Scotland during the Norman occupation of Ireland. Separately, in Stirlingshire there was an old family of MacGowans of uncertain origin.
Irish origins
In Ireland the name MacGowan refers to an eponymous ancestor, Aengus an Gobhain ("Angus the Smith") or Áengus Goibnenn mac Fergus Gallen mheic Tibraide Tirech, who was a High King of Ulster and the son of Fergus Galeng, son of Tipraiti Tireach.
The MacGowans were formerly chiefs in Dalariada, a principality in eastern Ulidia. However, they were driven to Donegal, Cavan, and Sligo in the 12th century due to English invasions in eastern Ireland. The MacGowans who settled in Sligo had their home at Castlegowan in Sligo, and thereafter a great number of them moved to Rossinver Parish in Leitrim. The name McGowan is now very popular in County Sligo and County Leitrim. The name McGowan is particularly common in the parish of Manorhamilton in Leitrim.
This family gave birth to many eminent ecclesiastics and literary men, and among the latter class may be mentioned Tadg Mac-an-Gowan, chief historiographer to the O'Connors towards the close of the 14th century; Felan M'an- Gowan by whom, assisted by the O'Dugans of East Galway, was compiled the Book of the O'Kellys, commonly called the Book of Hy-Many; and the no less distinguished ecclesiastical writer, Angus Ceile De M'anGowan, author of Lives of the Irish Saints and other tracts, who lived in the third quarter of the 8th century, and of whom the following pedigree is preserved.
As for the MacGowans who remained in the northeast of Ireland (in Antrim specifically), this family would later be associated with the MacDonnell Chieftains, who were a branch of the Scottish Clan Donald.
Notable people
- Brian McGowan (politician) (1935–1994), member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
- Charles M. McGowan (1923–2013), American businessman and politician
- Donald W. McGowan (1899–1967), U.S. Army Major General
- Dustin McGowan (born 1982), North American baseball player
- Dylan McGowan (born 1991), Australian soccer player
- Ed McGowin (born 1938), American visual artist
- Gavin McGowan (born 1976), English footballer
- Gerald S. McGowan (born 1946), United States Ambassador to Portugal, 1998–2001
- J. P. McGowan (1880–1952), Australian-American actor, screenwriter, and director
- James McGowen (1855–1922), Premier of New South Wales 1910–1913
- Jayden McGowan, American football player
- Jewel McGowan (1921–1962), American dancer
- Joe McGowan (born 1944), Irish historian
- John McGowan (disambiguation), several people, including
- Jack McGowan (1894–1977), Broadway writer, performer and producer
- J. P. McGowan John Paterson McGowan (1880–1952), Hollywood actor and director
- Mark McGowan (born 1967), Australian politician and Premier of Western Australia.
- Martin J. McGowan, Jr. (1920–2009), American politician and newspaper editor
- Ned McGowan (lawyer) (1812–1892), North American Gold rush pioneer
- Pat McGowan (born 1954), American golfer
- Patrick K. McGowan, American politician
- P. J. McGowan (born 1950s), Irish Gaelic football manager and administrator
- Richard McGowan (1933–2007), American explorer, mountaineer, and entrepreneur
- Robert McGowan (disambiguation), several people, including
- Robert McGowan Littlejohn (1890–1982), American major general
- Rose McGowan (born 1973), American actress
- Ross McGowan (born 1982), English golfer
- Ryan McGowan (born 1989), Australian soccer player
- Samuel McGowan (admiral) (1870–1934), admiral in the United States Navy
- Samuel McGowan (general) (1819–1897), Confederate general during the American Civil War
- Samuel Henry McGowan (c. 1844 – 1921), gold mining entrepreneur in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
- Steve McGowan (disambiguation), several people, including
MacGowan
Gowan
- Hunter Gowan John Hunter Gowan II (c. 1727 – 1824), Irish Protestant politician and militiaman
- Lawrence Gowan (born 1956), Canadian musician who used the stage name Gowan
- Ogle Robert Gowan (1803–1876), Canadian-Irish politician, son of Hunter Gowan
- Peter Gowan (1946–2009), UK socialist academic
Other uses
See also
- McGowan Lakes, a series of seven small alpine glacial lakes in Custer County, Idaho, United States
- McGowan v. Maryland, a US Supreme Court case involving trading on Sunday
- McGowan's Pass, a topographical feature of Central Park in New York City, New York
- McGowan Station, an island platformed METRORail light rail station in Houston, Texas, United States
- McGowan's War, a bloodless war that took place in Yale, British Columbia in the fall of 1858 and, there, threatened the newly established British authority on the mainland
- McGowan, Washington, a community in Washington state
- McGoohan
- Recipients of the Legion of Merit, awarded to three McGowans
- Distinguished Service Medal (US Army), one McGowan General officer recipient
Notes and References
- Dictionary of American Family Names P. Hanks ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press (2003) Vol. 2 G-N p 554 (set)
- John O'Hart, Irish Pedigrees; or, The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation, 5th edition, in two volumes, originally published in Dublin in 1892, reprinted, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976, Vol. 1, pp. 311–312, 819–820 and 872, for described general historical context for Ulaidh, see, also, The Encyclopedia of Ireland, B. Lalor and F. McCourt editors, © 2003 New Haven: Yale University Press, p. 1089