Sowa (surname)
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Japanese
Ghana
Japan
 | |
| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Languages | Polish Japanese |
| Meaning | Polish/Slavic: Owl Japanese: 曽和 Other: Unknown |
| Region of origin | Poland, Central/Eastern Europe Ghana Japan |
| Other names | |
| Variant forms | Sova (Czech, other Slavic form; Yiddish: סאָווע Sóve) |
Sowa (Polish pronunciation: [ˈsɔva] ⓘ) is a spelling or Latin transcription of multiple surnames including Polish, Ghanaian, and Japanese.
Europe
Among individuals of European origin, the surname Sowa is derived from the Polish noun "sowa" (owl). In some cases, it may be an alternative spelling of the surname Sova, which is a Ukrainian, Czech, Belarusian, Slovak and Russian cognate. Both are derived from Proto-Slavic *sova.
Polish name expert Kazimierz Rymut mentions the name in his book Nazwiska Polaków (The Surnames of Poles).[1] Rymut says the name appears in records as early as 1404 and comes from the noun sowa, which means "owl". Fred Hoffman, author of Polish Surnames, explains that a common practice in the early days of surname adoption was its bestowal upon people as a nickname because of their connection to the meaning behind the name,[2] which was, in this case, an owl.
Other countries
Unrelated homonymous surnames are also found in Ghana and Japan.
