2000
#12,654
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,242
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Owenby
Derived from the Welsh given name Owain, combined with the suffix "-by," indicating a settlement or homestead.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,432 Americans carry the last name Owenby. That puts it at #13,676 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 140,935 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Owenby 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
2.4K
1 in 140,935
Census rank
#13,676
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,121 bearers of the surname Owenby in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13676th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Owenby, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Owenby
The surname Owenby is believed to have originated in England, likely in the late medieval period or Renaissance era, somewhere between the 14th and 16th centuries. It is thought to be a locational surname, derived from a place name referring to a specific town or village where the earliest bearers of the name resided.
One potential origin theory suggests that the name Owenby may have evolved from the Old English words "oven" and "by," which could translate to "oven village" or "village with ovens." This could indicate that the original settlement was known for its bakeries or a prevalence of ovens used for baking bread or other culinary purposes.
Another possibility is that the name is a variant spelling or corruption of the place name "Ovenby" or "Ovenbie," which may have been the name of a specific location in England during that time period. Unfortunately, records of such a place name are scarce, making it challenging to pinpoint the exact origin with certainty.
Early recorded instances of the surname Owenby can be found in various historical documents, including parish records, tax rolls, and court records from various counties in England. One notable example is the mention of a William Owenby in the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire in 1524.
Among the earliest known bearers of the Owenby surname was John Owenby, a merchant and landowner who lived in Worcestershire, England, during the late 16th century. Another individual of note was Richard Owenby, a farmer and landowner from Gloucestershire, who was born in 1612 and died in 1683.
As the name spread and variants emerged, other notable individuals with the surname Owenby include:
1. Thomas Owenby (1745-1820), a soldier in the American Revolutionary War from Virginia.
2. Elizabeth Owenby (1798-1876), a pioneer and settler in Tennessee, known for her contribution to the early development of the region.
3. James Owenby (1825-1901), a farmer and politician who served in the Tennessee State Legislature in the late 19th century.
4. Samuel Owenby (1856-1932), a Baptist minister and author from North Carolina, known for his religious writings and sermons.
5. Mary Owenby (1879-1957), an educator and advocate for women's rights, who worked tirelessly to promote education opportunities for girls in rural areas of Tennessee.
It's important to note that while these examples provide insight into the historical presence of the Owenby surname, the exact origins and derivation remain somewhat uncertain due to the scarcity of definitive records from the earlier periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Owenby
Among Census respondents with the surname Owenby, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Owenby 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 Owenby surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 1,985
- Two or more races3.2% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Owenby
Owenby 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
#13,536
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,241
-1 bearers (-0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 882 places
2020
#13,676
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,121
-120 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 140 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,654 | 2,242 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,536 | 2,241 | 0.76 | -1 bearers (-0.0%) | Down 882 places |
| 2020 | #13,676 | 2,121 | 0.71 | -120 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 140 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 Owenby 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 | #13,536 | #13,676 | -1.0% |
| Count | 2,241 | 2,121 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.76 | 0.71 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Owenby bearers went from 2,241 to 2,121 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 140 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,536 to #13,676.
FAQ
Owenby surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Owenby?
Name Census estimates that about 2,432 living Americans carry the surname Owenby. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 140,935 residents.
How common is Owenby?
Owenby ranks #13,676 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,121 people with the surname Owenby. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,432), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Owenby.
Has Owenby become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Owenby went from 2,241 recorded bearers to 2,121. That is a decrease of 120 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,536 to #13,676.
What does the Census say about the background of Owenby?
Among Census respondents with the surname Owenby, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Owenby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (1,985 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Owenby appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Owenby (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 Owenby mean?
Derived from the Welsh given name Owain, combined with the suffix "-by," indicating a settlement or homestead. 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 Owenby (0.71 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 have the surname Owenby?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.