Etymology

McGowan

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Today it means: A surname. Full definition →

Scottish Gaelic Mac a' Ghobhainn ← Irish Mac Gabhann
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The story

  1. Irish · derived fromMac Gabhann
  2. Scottish Gaelic · derived fromMac a' Ghobhainn
  3. English todayMcGowan

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac a' Ghobhainn and Irish Mac Gabhann (literally “son of the smith”). Compare Scottish Gaelic gobha (“smith”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.