Lowella
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a blend of Lois and Ella.
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Lowella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lowella today is around 79 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lowella births was 1947 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lowella. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Lowella is about 79 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lowellas were born before 1957.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lowella. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1947
11 babies that year
Average age
79
years old
1950 SSA rank
#5,053
Tracked since 1919
Census
Lowella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 123 people with the first name Lowella, which placed it at #49,809 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#49,809
National first-name rank
People counted
123
123 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
42.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lowella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lowella is White at 42.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (41.5%) and Black (6.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Lowella described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Lowella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White42.3% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander41.5% · 51
- Black or African American6.5% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native6.5% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 4
Popularity
Lowella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lowella from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 37 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lowella by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Lowella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lowella
The name Lowella has its roots in the ancient Gaelic language, originating from the Celtic regions of Britain and Ireland around the 5th century AD. It is derived from the old Irish word "lugh," meaning "light" or "radiance," combined with the diminutive suffix "-ella," which signifies endearment or affection. This combination suggests that the name Lowella carries a meaning akin to "little light" or "little radiant one."
In the early medieval period, the name Lowella was primarily used among the Celtic population of the British Isles. It gained popularity during the Christian era, as many names with religious or spiritual connotations became fashionable. The name's association with light and radiance may have been viewed as a symbolic reference to divine illumination or the light of faith.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lowella can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history dating back to the 15th century. This text mentions a woman named Lowella mac Áedha, who lived in the late 12th century and was the daughter of a prominent Irish chieftain.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lowella. One of the most famous was Lowella Doherty (1887-1979), an Irish-American actress and vaudeville performer who rose to prominence in the early 20th century. She appeared in numerous Broadway productions and was renowned for her comedic talents.
Another significant figure was Lowella Kendrick (1920-1998), an American civil rights activist and educator. She was a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement and worked tirelessly to promote racial equality and educational opportunities for African Americans in the southern United States.
In the literary world, Lowella Parsons (1892-1953) was a renowned American journalist and gossip columnist. Her syndicated column, "Louella Parsons' Good News," became a popular source of Hollywood gossip and celebrity news during the golden age of cinema.
Lowella Bateman (1805-1889) was a British writer and activist who advocated for women's rights and social reform. She published several works on women's education and the improvement of working conditions for women in the 19th century.
Lastly, Lowella Calverley (1884-1958) was a Canadian artist and painter known for her vibrant landscape paintings depicting the scenic beauty of Western Canada. Her works are celebrated for capturing the essence of the Canadian Rockies and prairies.
People
Lowella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lowella as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lowella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lowella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lowella going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Lowella a common name?
We classify Lowella as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 65 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lowella most popular?
The single biggest year for Lowella was 1947, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lowella is about 79 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lowella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 123 people with the name Lowella, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,809 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Lowella in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Lowella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lowella appears almost entirely female. Of the 118 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Lowella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lowella is White at 42.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (41.5%) and Black (6.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Lowella most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lowella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.3% (52 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Lowella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lowella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lowella in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Lowella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lowella in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Lowella can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Lowella?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.