Conwell last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Conwell

A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "holy spring" or "holy well" in Old English.

Conwell, 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 Conwell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Conwell in America

Conwell is the 8579th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Conwell surname appeared 3,839 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Conwell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Conwell 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 8579 8866 -3.29%
Count 3,839 3,396 12.25%
Proportion per 100k 1.30 1.26 3.13%

The history of the last name Conwell

The surname Conwell is of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English words "cune" meaning "bold" and "welle" meaning "spring" or "stream". It is believed to have originated in the region of Warwickshire, England, and was initially used to denote someone who lived near a bold or brave spring or stream.

The name can be traced back to the 11th century, with early records showing variations in spelling such as Cunwelle, Conewelle, and Conwalle. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a landowner named Godric Conewelle is listed as holding a manor in Warwickshire.

In the 13th century, a notable individual bearing the name was John Conwell, a monk and chronicler from the Abbey of Evesham in Worcestershire. His writings provide valuable insights into the history and daily life of the abbey during that time period.

During the 14th century, the Conwell family gained prominence in Somerset, where they held lands and estates. One of the most notable members was Sir John Conwell, a knight who fought alongside Edward III in the Hundred Years' War against France. He was born in 1310 and died in 1378.

In the 16th century, the name appears in records from the city of Bristol, with a merchant named William Conwell (1525-1592) being a prominent figure in the city's trade and commerce.

Another notable individual was John Conwell (1608-1661), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Ipswich in Suffolk. He is best known for his work titled "The Doctrine of the Sabbath", which was published in 1644.

In the 18th century, the name gained recognition through the life of Russell Conwell (1743-1825), an American educator and philanthropist. He founded the Conwell Academy in Pennsylvania, which later became part of the public school system.

As the name spread across different regions, various spellings emerged, such as Conwill, Conville, and Conville. However, the most common spelling has remained Conwell.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Conwell

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

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 Conwell was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 70.23% 2,696
Non-Hispanic Black Only 24.09% 925
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.44% 17
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.70% 27
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.90% 73
Hispanic Origin 2.63% 101

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 Conwell has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 70.23% 73.14% -4.06%
Black 24.09% 23.06% 4.37%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.44% 0.53% -18.56%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.70% 0.82% -15.79%
Two or More Races 1.90% 1.24% 42.04%
Hispanic 2.63% 1.21% 73.96%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Conwell last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/conwell-surname-popularity/.

"Conwell last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/conwell-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Conwell last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/conwell-surname-popularity/.

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