2000
#6,467
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,842
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.79
Rare Last name
Mowry
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "mulberry tree" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,321 Americans carry the last name Mowry. That puts it at #6,980 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 64,415 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mowry 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.
Bearers in the US
5.3K
1 in 64,415
Census rank
#6,980
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,640 bearers of the surname Mowry in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6980th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mowry, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mowry
The surname Mowry originated in England, likely in the late medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name derived from a place name, possibly Mowry or Mowery, indicating that the earliest bearers of the name hailed from a town or village with that name.
One possible source of the name is the Old English word "mær," meaning "boundary" or "border," combined with the word "ēg," meaning "island" or "piece of land surrounded by water or marsh." This suggests that the name may have referred to a settlement situated on a boundary or near a waterlogged area.
While the name does not appear in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners in England after the Norman Conquest, there are records of individuals with similar spellings, such as Mowery and Mowry, in various historical documents from the 13th century onwards.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Mowry was John Mowry, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327. Another early bearer of the name was William Mowry, who was recorded in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1380.
Over the centuries, the Mowry surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One such figure was Richard Mowry (c. 1600-1671), an early settler in Rhode Island who was born in England and arrived in the American colonies in the 1630s. He played a significant role in the establishment of the town of Providence.
Another prominent individual with the Mowry surname was Sylvester Mowry (1830-1871), an American soldier and educator who fought in the American Civil War and later served as the president of Butler University in Indiana.
In the literary world, Jephtha Mowry (1795-1879) was an American poet and author who wrote several works, including "The Panorama of Life" and "Reflections on Nature and Nature's Laws."
Marjorie Mowry (1888-1970) was an American artist known for her landscape paintings and etchings, many of which depicted scenes from New England and the American West.
Lastly, Joseph Mowry (1849-1924) was an American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, from 1907 to 1909.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the Mowry surname throughout history, with roots that can be traced back to medieval England and the original place name from which the surname derived.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mowry
Among Census respondents with the surname Mowry, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Mowry 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 Mowry surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 4,310
- Two or more races3.0% · 137
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 130
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 30
- Black or African American0.5% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mowry
Mowry 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
#6,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,793
-49 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 1.62
Rank movement Down 522 places
2020
#6,980
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,640
-153 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.55
Rank movement Up 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,467 | 4,842 | 1.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,989 | 4,793 | 1.62 | -49 bearers (-1.0%) | Down 522 places |
| 2020 | #6,980 | 4,640 | 1.55 | -153 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 9 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 Mowry 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 | #6,989 | #6,980 | 0.1% |
| Count | 4,793 | 4,640 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.62 | 1.55 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mowry bearers went from 4,793 to 4,640 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,989 to #6,980.
FAQ
Mowry surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mowry?
Name Census estimates that about 5,321 living Americans carry the surname Mowry. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 64,415 residents.
How common is Mowry?
Mowry ranks #6,980 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.55 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 4,640 people with the surname Mowry. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,321), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.55 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 Mowry.
Has Mowry become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mowry went from 4,793 recorded bearers to 4,640. That is a decrease of 153 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,989 to #6,980.
What does the Census say about the background of Mowry?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mowry, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Mowry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (4,310 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mowry appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Mowry (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 Mowry mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "mulberry tree" in Old English. 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 Mowry (1.55 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 Americans have the surname Mowry?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.