An Scottish and Irish surname, McGowan comes from the Gaelic term ‘gabha’ which meant a smith; an iron or metal worker. The spelling variations for McGowan include McGowen, MacGowin, MacGowan, Magowan, McGavin, McGawne and McGawn. In Ireland the Counties of Monaghan, Tyrone, Leitrim, Donegal, Sligo and Derry have large populations with the McGowan surname. In northern England is where most with the McGowan name live. The greater McGowan populations reside in Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cheshire counties. In Scotland the original McGowans settled in the Inverness-shire region. Over the centuries many McGowan families moved to Ireland and then to Canada, Australia and the United States. The McGowan surname is still very common across Scotland. The counties with the greatest populations are Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire. Within the United States the early McGowan families settled in New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Famous: Brandon McGowan (professional football player), Pat McGowan (professional golfer), Kathleen McGowan (novelist), Tom McGowan (television actor), Robert Francis McGowan (movie film producer and director), Dustin McGowan (professional baseball player), Rose Arianna McGowan (singer and actress), Jewel McGowan (professional dancer of swing & the Lindy Hop), John Reid McGowan (professional boxing champion of Australia), Samuel McGowan (Civil War Confederate Army General) and William G. McGowan (founder of MCI Communications – WorldCom).