Find out how popular the last name McCowan is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named McCowan.

McCowan, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the McCowan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McCowan in America

McCowan is the 7386th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McCowan surname appeared 4,510 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname McCowan.

We can also compare 2010 data for McCowan to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name McCowan

The surname MCCOWAN is of Scottish origin and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning son and "cuan" meaning ocean or sea. The name likely originated in the coastal regions of Scotland, particularly in areas like Argyll and the Western Isles.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1264, where a person named Gillecoan is mentioned. This is believed to be an early variant spelling of the name MCCOWAN.

In the 14th century, the name appeared in various forms such as MacCowanne and McCowane in records from the counties of Ayr and Lanark. These early spellings reflect the regional variations in pronunciation and orthography at the time.

Several notable individuals with the surname MCCOWAN have been recorded throughout history. In the 16th century, John McCowan (c. 1525 - 1585) was a Scottish cleric and historian who served as the Bishop of Galloway. He was known for his writings on the history of Scotland.

Another prominent figure was Sir Alexander McCowan (1670 - 1744), a Scottish merchant and landowner. He was a successful businessman and acquired several estates in the Highlands, including the Isle of Canna.

In the 19th century, James McCowan (1814 - 1889) was a Scottish-born Australian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales. He played a significant role in the establishment of the University of Sydney.

Robert McCowan (1846 - 1920) was a Scottish-American industrialist who founded the McCowan and Company, a successful manufacturing firm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was also involved in various philanthropic endeavors.

More recently, Kenneth McCowan (1918 - 2004) was a Canadian actor and playwright. He is best known for his work in theater and television productions, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s.

The surname MCCOWAN has also been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as McCowan's Cairn in Argyll and the former estate of McCowan's Land in Renfrewshire. These place names further illustrate the historical presence and influence of the MCCOWAN family in different regions of Scotland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McCowan

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname McCowan.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for McCowan was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of McCowan has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name McCowan was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of McCowan, please contact us.

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