Clan MacGowan (also MacGowin, MacCowan, McGowan) was an

Irish-Scots Irish-Scots or Hiberno-Scots may refer to:: * Ulster Scots people ** Scotch-Irish Americans ** Scotch-Irish Canadians * Ulster Scots dialect * Irish Scottish people See also * Ulster Scots (disambiguation) * Scots (disambiguation) Scots may ...

clan which once occupied the area around the

River Nith The River Nith (; Common Brittonic: ''Nowios'') is a river in south-west Scotland. The Nith rises in the Carsphairn hills of East Ayrshire, between Prickeny Hill and Enoch Hill, east of Dalmellington. For the majority of its course it flows ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

, documented in the 1300s.Brown, James, "The History of Sanquhar, 1891"
Chapter III.—Early History
p. 41. "One of Dovenald's sons was Edgar, who lived in the reigns of William the Lion and Alexander II. The children of this chief adopted the surname of Edgar for the family—one of the earliest recorded instances of the adoption of a surname in Nithsdale. One of his sons, Richard, owned the Castle and half of the barony of Sanquhar, together with the lands of Elioek, by charter from Robert Brus, the other half being owned by W'illiam de Crichton through marriage with Isobel, daughter of Robert de Ross (who was related to the Lord of the Isles); and, to his grandson Donald, David II., who began to reign on the death of his father Robert the Bruce in 1329, granted the captainship of the MacGowans, a numerous clan of the Scoto-Irish then located in the district."

History

Clanmacgowin of Stranith was an Irish-Scottish clan recorded in the middle of the 14th century when Donald Edzear acquired the captainship from

David II of Scotland David II (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) was King of Scotland from 1329 until his death in 1371. Upon the death of his father, Robert the Bruce, David succeeded to the throne at the age of five and was crowned at Scone in November 1331, be ...

Galloway Galloway ( ; ; ) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the counties of Scotland, historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council areas of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Gallow ...

makes no solid distinction between the names McOwen, McEwen, McKeoune, McCowan, McGowan, etc., all of which can be easily conflated and confused when spoken, and the spellings of which were often not fixed until later in history. The Irish-Scot clan referred to in 13th century Nithsdale may draw its ancestry from the Irish

McGowan McGowan is an Irish and Scottish surname. It is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Mac Gabhann'' and Scottish ''Mac Gobhann'', both of which mean 'son of (the) smith'. Belonging to the Uí Echach Cobo, located in modern-day western County Down ...

Sept, whose eponymous ancestor is Aonghuis Goighne, the legendary ancient King of Ulster. These McGowans came to be a principal Sept in the Irish Kingdom of Ulidia, who were forced to flee their native lands to Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan and Scotland as a result of English invasions in the 12th century. The name McCowan may also refer to a separate eponymous ancestor. McCowan is an old family name from the Kirkconnel area where

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

had a company of McCowans in the upper Nith district. The name here may indicate descent from Owen the Bald, king of the

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...

, who was killed in 1018.George F. Black, "The Surnames of Scotland : Their Origin, Meaning and History, David II reigned Scotland from 1329 to 1371.", p. 505.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacEwen Scottish clans Armigerous clans Scottish diaspora in Europe Ulster Scots people