# Cowans (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/cowans/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Scottish Gaelic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 1,829 |
| US rank (2010) | 15,898 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 168,806 people |
| Change since 2000 | +15% (1,589 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Variant of Cowan, with redundant English patronymic -s.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Cowans in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 21% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 71% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.7% |
| Two or more races | 5.0% |

## Similar surnames

Coons, Canas, Comas, Chang, Camacho, Chung, Cheng, Cheung, Chong, Chance, Chiang, Ching.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.