Chouan 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 royalist s in general ) came to be known as " Chouans " , and the revolt itself came to be known as the " Chouannerie " . Origin of the word . Jean Cottereau and his brothers all inherited the surname Chouan from their father , a clog merchant and " homme honorable " from Saint - Berthevin in Mayenne , on the border with Brittany . One view is that this nickname originated from his talent for impersonating the cry of the owl ( " chouette " in French ) , or specifically the Tawny Owl , which was called " chouan " in old French ( French " chat - huant " ) , a designation that survived in the western " langue d ' oïl " dialect spoken in Mayenne . According to another authority , the only reason the members of the Cottereau family had long borne the surname Chouan was that their grandparent was sad and taciturn by nature , and according to yet another , because they used owl - calls as warning and recognition signals whilst out on smuggling trips . Writing within living memory of the events , Jacques Duchemin des Cépeaux insisted that , The surname of Chouan was given to Jean Chouan ' s grandfather because he was by nature taciturn and sad and because , at meetings , he kept himself out of the way in a corner . Since that time , the Cottereau family has maintained this surname . It was in turn given to all men who mustered to fight under the command of Jean Chouan , and finally to other royalists in arms in the western provinces . As for the account that the first Chouans imitated the cry of birds of the night to recognise and call each other , it is a supposition made by those who - not knowing the true explanation - nevertheless wanted to have some explanation to satisfy their curiosity . . . Maybe some insurgents had this idea which was suggested to them by their nickname . Although it is only some , it is to be noted that the bird formerly dedicated to armed wisdom became a sort of emblem for the bellicose piety of our peasants . " One possible reason the name was extended to the royalist troops of Maine , Normandy and Britanny is the riot at Saint - Ouën - des - Toits on 15 August 1792 , in which ( among others ) Jean and René Cottereau participated . There , they signalled to the Laval authorities . Another is that the royalist troops mustered at night using the owl call as a signal . Spread . The opinion of some historians ( including abbot Paulouin ) writing on the revolt states that " the insurgents of the Sarthe did not receive the nickname Chouans , but took it up of their own accord at the beginning of their resistance career " . The 19th century historians — J . - J . M . Savary , J . - M . Lequinio the author of " Mémoires d ' un Administrateur des Armées Républicaines dans la Vendée " — differed . Joseph de Puisaye , the best - informed on the topic after having been the Chouannerie ' s supreme commander , affirmed that the Chouan brothers gave their name to the revolt which they had first organised . A curious shield of the revolt seems to bear a sort of official use of owls ( also the emblem of Minerva ) in representing the Chouannerie . It bore the arms of France , " right " , supported by two owls , with a double motto , " IN SAPIENTIA ROBUR " at the top , " SIC REFLORESCENT " at the bottom . It is to be found on some publications emanating from the " Royalist agencies in England " , notably on the frontispiece of " l ’ Almanac h Royaliste pour l ' année 1795 , troisième du règne de Louis XVII , à Nantes ( Londres ) et se trouve dans toutes les villes de la Bretagne , de la Normandie , du Poitou , du Maine , du Perche , de l ' Anjou , etc . , et bientôt dans toute la France " or , in English , " The Royalist Almanac for the year 1795 , third year of the reign of Louis XVII , at Nantes ( ie London ) and found in all the towns of Britanny , Normandy , Poitou , Maine , Perche , Anjou , and soon throughout the whole of France " .