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

Flower, 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 Flower surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Flower in America

Flower is the 8828th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Flower surname appeared 3,711 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 Flower.

We can also compare 2010 data for Flower 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 Flower

The surname Flower has its origins in England, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "floure" or the Anglo-Norman French word "flour," both of which refer to a blossom or flower. The surname likely emerged as a descriptive name, initially given to individuals who lived near a garden or meadow, or perhaps had a connection to the cultivation of flowers.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Flower surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire, a 13th-century census document. This record mentions a William Flowere, suggesting the presence of the surname in the region during that time period. Additionally, the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166 list a Richard Flur, which could be an early variant spelling.

In the 14th century, the Flower surname appeared in various historical records, including the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, where a John Floure was mentioned in 1345. The Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1327 also referenced a Ralph Flowere.

Notable individuals with the Flower surname throughout history include William Flower (c. 1498-1588), an English Protestant reformer and clergyman who served as a chaplain to King Edward VI. Another prominent figure was Benjamin Flower (1755-1829), a British political writer and radical publisher known for his advocacy of parliamentary reform.

In the realm of literature, Roswell Pitkin Flower (1835-1899) was an American author and journalist, best known for his works on the history of the State of Wisconsin. The surname also has associations with military service, as exemplified by Sir Walter Nugent Flower (1873-1964), a British Army officer who fought in the Second Boer War and World War I.

Across the Atlantic, one notable bearer of the Flower surname was Peniston Flower (1592-1670), an early settler in Virginia who served as a member of the House of Burgesses and played a role in the establishment of the Virginia Colony.

While the Flower surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with individuals bearing this name contributing to diverse fields throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Flower

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

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

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

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