McCown McCown McCown is a Gaelic-language surname with several possible etymological origins. There are several possible etymologies for the McCown surname. McCown and its multitude of spelling variants could originate from anglicised versions of the Gaelic names "Mac Eòghain", "Mac Eòin" or "Mac Còmhghan". McCown is a patronymic surname, the Gaelic "Mac" (or "Mc") meaning ""son of"" in English. Mac Eoghain is the most likely etymological origin for the surname McCown. The Gaelic name "Eòghan" translates into modern day English as Ewen or "Owen". The prefix of "Eo" in "Eoghan", is often pronounced "yew". This has caused many to translate Eoghan
Mac and Mc together in print two publications on filing rules, one covering that "word-by-word" convention, and another prepared in 1980 that is "letter-by-letter". A 1998 book attributes the changes to the rules to computer informatics, and notes the Mac/Mc change as its first example. 1982's "Scottish Roots", a guide for family history researchers, warns that older Scottish records do not in fact follow this convention, unlike contemporary telephone directories. A 2001 book of "New York Times" theatre reviews sorts Mc names as if spelled Mac. A 2002 official document for the State of Vermont recommends explicitly no special treatment for Mac and Mc.