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Surname Etymology and Meaning of GOWAN

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Name meanings and etymologies are often disputed. The information here is compiled from freely available sources, and no claims whatsoever are made for accuracy, either historical or etymological.

1. Irish (Cavan): reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Gobhann ‘descendant of the smith’.
2. Scottish and Irish: shortened form of McGowan or from the genitive (gobhainn) of gobhan ‘smith’. In Ireland (in the south, especially), these names were also translated as Smith.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names (2003)