Given name & surname
Cowan
“from the hollow near the hill; one of twins”
Cowan is used as a given name and a surname. One Irish interpretation is “from the hollow near the hill; one of twins.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Irish interpretation is “from the hollow near the hill; one of twins.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Irish.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1968. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cowan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 180
- 180 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2005
- 15 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #12,422 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 12,422 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 15 in 2005. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 250 as a first name in 2020; 30,577 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Cowan’s family of names
Cowan has a related form in Cowen. Cowan has a related form in Cowin. Cowan has a related form in Cowon.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Cowan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Corgan
Corgan is a surname from Irish.
>99% boys
Colgan
“descendant of Colgán”
>99% boys
Conlon
“a hero”
>99% boys
Keiran
“having dark features; the little dark one”
>99% boys
Kaelan
“a mighty warrior”
85% boys · 15% girls
Keveen
Keveen is a masculine given name from Old Irish. It is used in Manx.
>99% boys
Keegan
“small and fiery woman” · “a small and fiery man”
90% boys · 10% girls
Keagan
“small and fiery woman” · “a small and fiery man”
80% boys · 20% girls