SABRINA MCGOWN

From the name of a character in Celtic legend, who supposedly gave her name to the River Severn. In fact this is one of the most ancient of all British river names, and its true origins are obscure. Legend, as preserved by Geoffrey of Monmouth, had it that Sabrina was the illegitimate daughter of a Welsh king called Locrine, and was drowned in the river on the orders of the king's wife, Gwendolen. The river name is found in the form Sabrina in the Latin writings of Tacitus, Gildas, and Bede. Geoffrey of Monmouth comments that in Welsh the name is Habren (modern Welsh Hafren). The name of the legendary character is almost certainly derived from that of the river, rather than vice versa.

Scottish and Irish: variant spelling of McGowan.