Gowen is a name believed to be of Scottish origin. It is believed that this name was originally derived from an identical Gaelic word. This Gaelic word was supposed to mean "metal smith". People of either Scottish or Irish ethnicity bearing this name were following this trade. This was true of early usage of the name.
Metal working could mean a lot of things besides just blacksmiths including tinsmiths, goldsmiths, coppersmiths and silversmiths. Members of these professions were known by the name Gowen in Scotland and Ireland where as in the rest of England the name given to these professionals would have been "Smith", "Kovaks" in Poland and "Schmidt" in Germany.
The name had many variations and spellings including Gow-in, Gowan, Gowine, Goin, Goyne, Goy-en, Gowing, Gouwen etc.
Metal working could mean a lot of things besides just blacksmiths including tinsmiths, goldsmiths, coppersmiths and silversmiths. Members of these professions were known by the name Gowen in Scotland and Ireland where as in the rest of England the name given to these professionals would have been "Smith", "Kovaks" in Poland and "Schmidt" in Germany.
The name had many variations and spellings including Gow-in, Gowan, Gowine, Goin, Goyne, Goy-en, Gowing, Gouwen etc.