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

Meadows, 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 Meadows surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Meadows in America

Meadows is the 773rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Meadows surname appeared 44,500 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 Meadows.

We can also compare 2010 data for Meadows 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 Meadows

The surname Meadows is an English habitation name derived from the Old English word "maed" meaning meadow or tract of grass land. It was originally used as a locational identifier for someone who lived near or came from an area known for its meadows or grasslands.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Meadows can be traced back to the late 12th century in various county records and tax rolls across England. One notable early appearance is in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1199, which mentions a Richard de Medwe.

In the 13th century, the Hundred Rolls of 1273 lists a William de la Medewe in Oxfordshire. The Meadows spelling variation can be found in records from the 14th century onwards, such as the Poll Tax of Yorkshire from 1379 which includes a John Medows.

The name Meadows was particularly prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire, Staffordshire, and Gloucestershire, where many medieval records document individuals bearing this surname. Some of these early recordings include John atte Medwe (1327) in Somerset and William de la Medewe (1332) in Oxfordshire.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Meadows surname was Sir Philip Meadows (1626-1718), an English diplomat and politician who served as Envoy Extraordinary to Portugal and Sweden. Another notable figure was Sir Sydney Meadows (1701-1792), a British naval officer and colonial administrator who served as Governor of the Leeward Islands from 1742 to 1751.

Other historical figures with the Meadows surname include Thomas Taylor Meadows (1815-1868), a British sinologist and translator of Chinese literature, and Charles Meadows (1737-1821), an English lawyer and judge who served as Chief Justice of the Calcutta Supreme Court.

The name Meadows has also been associated with various place names across England, such as Meadows in Derbyshire, Meadows in Nottinghamshire, and Meadows in Staffordshire. These locations likely derived their names from the presence of meadowlands or grasslands in the area.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Meadows

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

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

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

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