| ![Show Contents]() Chowen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England The name Chowen was brought to England in the wave of migration that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Chowen family lived in Kent, where they held lands and a family seat at Fairbourne (later Fairlawn). "This family is said to be from. Castle Chiowne, Chioune, Chun, or Choon, which some interpret a 'house in a croft.'" 1 Early Origins of the Chowen familyThe surname Chowen was first found in Kent, where the Chowen family was anciently seated as Lords of the Manor of Fairbourne (later Fairlawn). At the taking of the Domesday Book in 1086, a survey initiated by Duke William after his conquest of England at Hastings in 1066, this estate was held by Hugh le Vendee, nephew of Herbert and Ralph de Courbepine from the tenant in chief, the Bishop of Bayeux, and it is from Hugh which the family is conjecturally descended. 2 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included listings for the name as a forename and a surname: Chun Mervyn, Cambridgeshire; Chun Pimme, Cambridgeshire; Chun Pistor, Cambridgeshire; William Chaun, Lincolnshire; and Hugh Chone, Oxfordshire. 3 Early History of the Chowen familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chowen research. Another 169 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1583, 1596, 1613, 1639, 1659 and 1668 are included under the topic Early Chowen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Chowen Spelling VariationsSpelling variations in names were a common occurrence in the eras before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate regularly changed the spellings of their names as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Chowen have been found, including Chowne, Chown, Chiowne, Chioune, Choon, Chiown, Cone, Chone, Cowne, Cown, Coun, Coune, Chune, Choone and many more. Early Notables of the Chowen familyAnother 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Chowen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
 Chowen migration to New Zealand | + |
Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include: Chowen Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century- John Chowen, aged 24, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rakaia" in 1879
- Mary E. Chowen, aged 21, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rakaia" in 1879
| Contemporary Notables of the name Chowen (post 1700) | + |
- Wesley John Chowen (b. 1939), American cyclist who competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics and the 1964 Summer Olympics
- Alicia Chowen, Canadian actress, known for her work on The Flash, About a Girl
- Chelsea Chowen, Canadian actress, known for A Life Less Gone (2008)
- Gary Chowen, Canadian hairdresser, born in Toronto on Yorkville Avenue, known for his work on Bizarre, The Ian and Sylvia Reunion (1986)
- Michael David Lincoln Chowen CBE DL, British businessman and philanthropist
- Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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Chowen migration to New Zealand 
