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

Jowett, 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 Jowett surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jowett in America

Jowett is the 37899th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jowett surname appeared 586 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 Jowett.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jowett 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 Jowett

The surname Jowett originated in England and has its roots in the Middle English period, dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "jouet," meaning a small toy or plaything, which later evolved into a surname denoting a jester or entertainer.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Jowett can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where a certain William Jowett is mentioned as a landowner. This suggests that the name had already been established in the region by that time.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name appeared in various records and documents across northern England, particularly in the counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire. One notable example is the appearance of John Jowett in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire from 1332.

The Jowett surname has also been associated with several place names, such as Jowett's Cross in Yorkshire and Jowett's Croft in Lancashire. These locations likely derived their names from individuals bearing the Jowett surname who once resided or held land there.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Jowett. One of the earliest was William Jowett (1564-1637), an English clergyman and theologian who served as the Master of Christ's College, Cambridge, from 1615 until his death.

Another prominent figure was Benjamin Jowett (1817-1893), a renowned scholar and theologian who served as the Master of Balliol College, Oxford, from 1870 to 1893. He is best known for his influential translation of Plato's dialogues into English.

In the field of literature, Mary Jowett (1827-1884) was a notable English novelist and playwright. She wrote several popular novels, including "The Beloved Disciple" and "The Story of a Life."

The world of sports also had its share of Jowetts, such as Walter Jowett (1860-1932), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club in the late 19th century.

Lastly, one cannot overlook the contributions of Benjamin Jowett (1734-1806), an English merchant and industrialist who founded the Jowett Motor Manufacturing Company in Yorkshire in the early 20th century, which produced cars until the late 1950s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jowett

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

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

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

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