Find out how popular the last name Abowitz is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Abowitz.

Abowitz, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Abowitz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Abowitz in America

Abowitz is the 144141st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Abowitz surname appeared 115 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Abowitz.

The history of the last name Abowitz

The surname Abowitz has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically in areas that are now parts of Poland and Belarus. It likely emerged in the late 16th or early 17th century as a patronymic name, derived from a personal name or nickname.

One possible source is the Slavic name "Aba," which could have been a shortened form of names like Abram or Abraham. The suffix "-witz" or "-vich" was commonly added to create a patronymic surname, indicating "son of." Thus, Abowitz might have initially meant "son of Aba."

Another theory traces the name to the Belarusian word "abavits," meaning "a type of cloth." In this case, the surname could have originated as an occupational name for a person involved in the cloth or textile trade.

While definitive historical records are scarce, the earliest known instances of the Abowitz surname can be found in Jewish communities in Eastern Europe during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. For example, Rabbi Meir Abowitz, a prominent Talmudic scholar, lived in Poland in the late 1600s.

In the 19th century, the name appears in various spellings, such as Abowicz or Abovitz, in census records and documents from cities like Warsaw and Vilnius. One notable individual was Isaac Abowitz (1823-1892), a successful businessman and philanthropist in Warsaw, who supported Jewish education and charitable causes.

As Jewish communities faced persecution and sought better opportunities, many Abowitz families immigrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Abraham Abowitz (1876-1942) was a prominent lawyer and community leader in New York City, while Samuel Abowitz (1901-1983) founded a successful furniture business in Toronto, Canada.

Other notable figures with the Abowitz surname include the American author and journalist Marlene Abowitz (born 1942), and the British scientist and inventor David Abowitz (1939-2022), known for his contributions to laser technology.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Abowitz

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Abowitz.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Abowitz was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Abowitz was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Abowitz, please contact us.

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