The McGowen surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,825 people carried this name — #8,606 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 76,900 people counted. That is down 1% from 3,846 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

34 families named McGowen, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 185 people lived in those households, 5.4 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McGowen, McGowan, McGowin, McGown, McGowns. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 11
North Carolina 9
New York 5
South Carolina 4
Maryland 3
Maine 1
Massachusetts 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 252 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McGowen in American newspapers,
1890–1920.

Newspaper page from The Daily Times carrying the name McGowen
The Daily Times 1920-02-17
Newspaper page from The Rawlins Republican carrying the name McGowen
The Rawlins Republican 1890-11-20
Newspaper page from The Huttig News carrying the name McGowen
The Huttig News 1915-07-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 8,192 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McGowen in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1980s.

24,122 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McGowen. The most, 14,658, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 2.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 18,283
South Australia 2,182
Western Australia 1,182
Queensland 962
Victoria 875
Tasmania 616
ACT (Canberra) 18
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McGowen.

Who carried it

People named McGowen,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James McGowen
    James McGowen 1855–1922 · trade union official
  • Roscoe McGowen 1886–1966 · journalist
  • James McGowen 1905–1994 · politician
  • Ruth McGowen 1876–1962 · artist

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named McGowen,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States678 records

678 records of the McGowen name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 269
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 136
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 105
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 85
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 53
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 20
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 8
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Ervin B. McGowen

    Born 1915 in Texas. Enlisted 1941 at Houston; stock clerk from Harris County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1982, buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Bridget McGowen

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Ethiopia from Glasgow and Moville, aged 18; servant. From Ireland; bound for Connecticut.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Charles Frank McGowen

    Born 1944; from Boulder, Colorado. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Long An, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 678 records for McGowen in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia42 records

42 records of the McGowen name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 16
  • Tasmanian Names Index 10
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 9
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 6
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Michael McGowen

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Neptune, sailing from Cape of Good Hope in 1850.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Elizth McGowen

    Arrived in Victoria in 1855 aboard the Persia, aged 22; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Alice McGowen

    Domestic of Malvern, Victoria; died 1900.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 42 records for McGowen in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada32 records

32 records of the McGowen name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 31
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Alex McGowen

    Killed in 1886 at the Sydney Mines mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Frank Fernie McGowen

    Died in service in 1917.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Susan E. McGowen

    Married 1897 in Queens, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 32 records for McGowen in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the McGowen name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. A. McGowen

    Machine Gun Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McGowen.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McGowen is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the McGowen volume
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