2000
#4,575
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.64
Rare Last name
Lowman
An occupational surname for someone who lived in a low-lying area or worked in a lowland region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,689 Americans carry the last name Lowman. That puts it at #5,069 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,577 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lowman surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Lowman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.7K
1 in 44,577
Census rank
#5,069
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,705 bearers of the surname Lowman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5069th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lowman, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lowman
The surname Lowman is of English origin, deriving from the Old English words "hlaw" meaning a low hill or mound, and "mann" meaning a man or servant. It likely originated in the areas around the counties of Wiltshire, Dorset, and Somerset, where surnames first began to be adopted in the late 11th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lowman can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Lowemann" in reference to a landowner in the village of Gillingham, Dorset. The spelling variations "Loweman" and "Louman" also appear in tax rolls and parish records from the 13th and 14th centuries across southern England.
A notable bearer of the name was Sir John Lowman (1460-1524), a member of the gentry from Wiltshire who served as a Member of Parliament and High Sheriff during the reign of Henry VIII. Another early record is of William Lowman (1565-1623), a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Bristol.
In the 17th century, the Lowman family established themselves in the county of Somerset, where they owned estates near the town of Frome. One member, Thomas Lowman (1631-1702), was a wealthy landowner and Justice of the Peace who served as High Sheriff of Somerset in 1684.
As the name spread across England, it also took on various localized spellings such as "Loman" and "Loweman". A notable example is John Loman (1725-1789), a renowned clockmaker from London whose intricate timepieces were highly sought after by the aristocracy.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, the Lowman name had become well-established across Britain, with families residing in counties such as Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Gloucestershire. One prominent figure was Sir William Lowman (1786-1856), a successful industrialist and Member of Parliament for the city of Carlisle.
Throughout its history, the surname Lowman has maintained a strong association with its origins as a topographic name, reflecting the geographic landscapes of the regions where it first emerged in southern England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lowman
Among Census respondents with the surname Lowman, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Lowman bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Lowman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.6% · 5,340
- Black or African American11.9% · 798
- Two or more races4.0% · 266
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 184
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 59
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 58
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lowman
Lowman appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,838
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,284
+170 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 2.47
Rank movement Down 263 places
2020
#5,069
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,705
-579 bearers (-7.9%)
Per 100,000 2.24
Rank movement Down 231 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,575 | 7,114 | 2.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,838 | 7,284 | 2.47 | +170 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 263 places |
| 2020 | #5,069 | 6,705 | 2.24 | -579 bearers (-7.9%) | Down 231 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Lowman surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,838 | #5,069 | -4.8% |
| Count | 7,284 | 6,705 | -7.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.47 | 2.24 | -9.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lowman bearers went from 7,284 to 6,705 (-7.9% change). The surname moved down 231 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,838 to #5,069.
FAQ
Lowman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lowman?
Name Census estimates that about 7,689 living Americans carry the surname Lowman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,577 residents.
How common is Lowman?
Lowman ranks #5,069 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.24 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,705 people with the surname Lowman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,689), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.24 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Lowman.
Has Lowman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lowman went from 7,284 recorded bearers to 6,705. That is a decrease of 579 (-7.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,838 to #5,069.
What does the Census say about the background of Lowman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lowman, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Lowman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.6% (5,340 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lowman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.6%), Black (11.9%), Two or More Races (4.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Lowman (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Lowman mean?
An occupational surname for someone who lived in a low-lying area or worked in a lowland region. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Lowman (2.24 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Lowman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.