Chouan ("the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the , most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution. Participants in this revolt–and to some extent French anti-Revolutionary activists in general–came to be known as Chouans, and the revolt itself came to be known as the Chouannerie.