Govender History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Scotland
Ireland

Early Origins of the Govender family

The surname Govender was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland, now divided into the Council Areas of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, and the City of Glasgow, where they held a family seat on the territories and lands known as Govan. The first on record was Christian, widow of Simon Govan in 1293.

The name of this parish is generally supposed to have been derived from the two Saxon words god and win, 'good wine,' applied on account of the superior ale for which the place was celebrated, and which, after being kept for several years, approached in flavour to wine. Some, however, derive it from the Gaelic word gamham, pronounced gavan, and signifying 'a ditch,' used in reference to the river Clyde, which runs through the parish, and which, in ancient times, was a very narrow stream. 1

Early History of the Govender family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Govender research. Another 123 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1326, 1359, 1425, 1587, 1623, 1661, 1668 and 1672 are included under the topic Early Govender History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Govender Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Govan, Govane, Govean, Govans, MacGovan, MacGovans, Gowen and many more.

Early Notables of the Govender family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Sir John of Govan; and Captain William Govan (1623-1661), a Scottish officer who fought for the Covenanters during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Govender Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Govender Ranking

In South Africa, the name Govender is the 18^th most popular surname with an estimated 129,771 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Govender family to Ireland

Some of the Govender family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Govender family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Katherine Govan who settled in New Jersey in 1685; James Govan settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1850; Thomas Gowen settled in Virginia in 1635.

Contemporary Notables of the name Govender (post 1700) +

Ronnie Govender (1934-2021), Tamil South African playwright, director and activist
Rev. Rogers Morgan Govender M.B.E. (b. 1960), born in Durban, South Africa, British Dean of Manchester, was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 2018 for services to Interfaith Relations and to the community in Manchester 3

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"Most Common Last Names in South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/surnames
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists