McGeown Family Crest, Coat of Arms & McGeown Name Origin

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Origin of the Name McGeown

The McGeown family history was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. Variants of McGeown include McGowan, O'Gowan, McGuane, Smith, Going, Gowen, Mageown and Geon. This Irish surname is hidden under the synonym Smith, which in Gaelic is 'Mac an Ghabhain', meaning 'son of smith'. They were one of the principal septs of Breffney, their territory being in County Leitrim and the North-West Counties of Donegal and Sligo. A very prominent member of this family in County Cavan has changed his name back to O'Gowan. The town of Ballygowan still exists in County Down. Two McGowans have distinguished themselves abroad. Samuel McGowan, 1819-1897, was a jurist and confederate soldier in America. In New Zealand, James McGowan, 1841-1912, was a statesman. The variants Going and Gowen are recorded in the Fermoy area. Mageown and Geon are synonyms of McGowan and McGeown that are mostly found in the County Down area.