Chouan ("the silent one", or "owl") is a French surname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution. Members of this revolt (and even French royalists in general) came to be known as Chouans, and the revolt itself came to be known as the Chouannerie.