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

Nowlin, 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 Nowlin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nowlin in America

Nowlin is the 5216th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nowlin surname appeared 6,692 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Nowlin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nowlin 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 Nowlin

The surname Nowlin is believed to have originated in the British Isles, specifically in England and Scotland, during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "nowell," which means "Christmas" or "Nativity," and was likely used as a descriptive name for someone associated with Christmas festivities or who was born around that time of year.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various historical documents, such as parish records and tax rolls, dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Richard Nowelin, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.

The Nowlin surname has also been linked to certain place names, particularly in areas where the name was prevalent. For example, the village of Nowlton in Cheshire, England, may have been named after an early bearer of the Nowlin surname.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Nowlin. One of the earliest was Sir John Nowlin (c. 1450-1515), an English landowner and member of Parliament during the reign of King Henry VIII. Another influential figure was Reverend Richard Nowlin (1620-1689), a Puritan minister who emigrated to America and served as the first pastor of the First Church of Boston.

In the 18th century, John Nowlin (1736-1811) was a prominent American frontiersman and explorer who helped establish settlements in the Ohio Valley and Kentucky. During the American Revolutionary War, Major Joseph Nowlin (1752-1825) served as a member of the Virginia militia and fought in several battles against the British forces.

Moving into the 19th century, William Nowlin (1805-1878) was a respected physician and pioneer in the field of homeopathic medicine, practicing in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Another notable figure was Emily Nowlin (1838-1912), an American educator and advocate for women's rights, who founded several schools and colleges in the southern United States.

While the Nowlin surname may have originated in England and Scotland, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including North America, Australia, and other English-speaking countries, due to immigration and migration patterns over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nowlin

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!