How common is the surname McGowan?

33,340 people in the United States had the surname McGowan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,261 Americans. It ranked 1,046th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named McGowan?

Rose McGowan, American actress, director and activist, followed by Ryan McGowan.

Where is the surname McGowan most common?

Wikidata records people named McGowan in the United States, Australia and Italy.

Is the surname McGowan getting more or less common?

More common. 31,669 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 33,340 in 2010, up 5.3%.

The surname McGowan

An occupational surname, carried by 33,340 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex M250

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). McGowan is more common than 99.4% of them.

Origin

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

McGowan is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 33,340 people named McGowan in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 9,261 Americans. That is up 5.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 31,669.

#1,046

rank among US surnames

33,340

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+5.3%

change since 2000 (was #1,010)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,037	Key	33,501	9,216
#1,038	Cho	33,490	9,219
#1,039	Kaiser	33,480	9,222
#1,040	Holder	33,465	9,226
#1,041	Bird	33,457	9,228
#1,042	Bonner	33,446	9,231
#1,043	Ferrell	33,418	9,239

Who is named McGowan

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

75% of people named McGowan identified as white (not Hispanic), 20% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 75%
Black (not Hispanic) 20%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Two or more races 1.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous McGowans

10 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Rose McGowan
American actress, director and activist, born 1973
Ryan McGowan
Australian association football player, born 1989
Zach McGowan
American actor, born 1980
Dylan McGowan
Australian association football player, born 1991
J. P. McGowan
Australian film director (1880–1952)
Tom McGowan
Actor, born 1959
Robert F. McGowan
American film director and producer (1882–1955)
Mark McGowan
Australian politician, born 1967
Robert A. McGowan
American politician (1901-1955)
Kathleen McGowan
American writer, born 1963

Notable McGowans come mostly from the United States (6), Australia (3) and Italy (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Macgowan

Surnames that sound like McGowan

McGowan has the Soundex code M250, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M250.

Questions

Where does the surname McGowan come from?: Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac a' Ghobhainn and Irish Mac Gabhann (literally “son of the smith”). Compare Scottish Gaelic gobha (“smith”).
How common is the surname McGowan?: 33,340 people in the United States had the surname McGowan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,261 Americans. It ranked 1,046th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname McGowan?: In the 2010 Census, 75% of people named McGowan identified as white (not Hispanic), and 20% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named McGowan?: Rose McGowan, American actress, director and activist, followed by Ryan McGowan.
Where is the surname McGowan most common?: Wikidata records people named McGowan in the United States, Australia and Italy.
What type of surname is McGowan?: McGowan is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname McGowan getting more or less common?: More common. 31,669 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 33,340 in 2010, up 5.3%.
What are other spellings of McGowan?: Macgowan.