indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Gender Masculine & Feminine
Usage Scottish, Medieval English
Other Forms FormsGowen, Gawen, Gowin, Gawin, Cowan, Gowing,
Meaning & History
From a Scots name for the daisy and other golden or white field flowers, perhaps ultimately from Old Norse gollinn "golden". Robert Burns' poem "To a Mountain Daisy" (1786) was originally titled "The Gowan". In the 17th and 18th centuries it occurs in the region as a masculine name, possibly a variant of Gawain or from the surname Gowan, which is from Gaelic gobhan "metal worker, blacksmith" (genitive gobhainn; compare Gobán).