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

Conway, 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 Conway surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Conway in America

Conway is the 779th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Conway surname appeared 44,320 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 15 people would have the surname Conway.

We can also compare 2010 data for Conway to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Conway

The surname Conway has its origins in Wales, where it emerged in the 13th century. It is derived from the Welsh words "cwn" meaning hound or dog and "gwy" meaning a meadow or valley, thus together meaning "the meadow or valley of the hounds". The name likely referred to a specific geographical location or estate in Wales that was associated with hunting dogs.

The earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in medieval Welsh records and manuscripts. It appears in the "Book of Baglan" from the 14th century, which was a Welsh legal text. The name is also found in the "Extent of Neath" from 1262, which was a survey of landholdings in the region.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir John Conway, who lived in the late 15th century and was a prominent Welsh landowner. He served as High Sheriff of Caernarvonshire in 1496. Another notable figure was Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway, who lived from 1594 to 1655 and was a prominent English politician and military leader during the English Civil War.

In the 17th century, the Conway family established themselves as influential landowners and politicians in Ireland. Edward Conway, 2nd Viscount Conway, born in 1623, was a member of the Irish House of Lords and served as Lord Lieutenant of Antrim. His son, Edward Conway, 3rd Viscount Conway, lived from 1655 to 1683 and was also a member of the Irish House of Lords.

Another notable bearer of the name was Henry Seymour Conway, who lived from 1721 to 1795. He was a British army officer and statesman who served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department and was a prominent figure in the Whig party.

In the literary world, Anne Conway, who lived from 1631 to 1679, was an English philosopher and writer who was one of the first English women to write on the subject of metaphysics. Her work, "The Principles of the Most Ancient and Modern Philosophy", was influential in the development of philosophical thought in the 17th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Conway

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

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 Conway 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.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Conway has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Conway was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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