2000
#7,118
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,328
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.60
Rare Last name
Owings
Derived from the Old English given name "Ēowin," meaning "friend of the yew tree."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,794 Americans carry the last name Owings. That puts it at #7,630 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 71,497 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Owings 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
4.8K
1 in 71,497
Census rank
#7,630
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,181 bearers of the surname Owings in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7630th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Owings, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Owings
The surname Owings has its origins in the Anglicized form of the Scottish surname 'O'ing', which is derived from the Gaelic personal name 'Ing'. This name is thought to have originated in the Scottish Highlands, particularly in the region of Argyll, during the Middle Ages.
Owings is believed to be a variant spelling of the more common 'Ewing' surname. The earliest recorded instance of the name Owings dates back to the 16th century in Scotland. One notable early record is that of John Owings, who was mentioned in the Register of the Privy Council of Scotland in 1592.
In the 17th century, the Owings name began to appear in various legal and historical documents across Scotland and England. For example, a Robert Owings was recorded as a resident of Dunfermline, Fife, in 1634, while a Thomas Owings was listed as a merchant in London in 1677.
The Owings surname has a strong connection to the Scottish Clan Ewing, whose ancestral lands were located in the Scottish Borders region. The Clan Ewing trace their lineage back to Ingus, a 12th-century chieftain, whose name is believed to be the source of the 'Ing' element in the surname.
One notable bearer of the Owings surname was James Owings (1679-1753), a Scottish-born merchant and landowner who emigrated to Maryland, United States, in the early 18th century. He acquired significant landholdings and became a prominent figure in the colony's affairs.
Another notable Owings was Thomas Owings (1782-1866), an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland from 1817 to 1819.
In the 19th century, the Owings family played a role in the American Civil War. John W. Owings (1821-1899) served as a colonel in the Union Army, while his brother, Nathaniel Owings (1828-1906), fought for the Confederacy.
Other notable individuals with the Owings surname include William A. Owings (1859-1940), an American educator and author, and Cuthbert Owings (1838-1923), a prominent architect and co-founder of the American Institute of Architects.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Owings
Among Census respondents with the surname Owings, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Owings 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 Owings surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 3,726
- Two or more races3.8% · 159
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 116
- Black or African American2.1% · 88
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 38
Timeline
Historical Census data for Owings
Owings 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
#7,585
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,381
+53 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 1.49
Rank movement Down 467 places
2020
#7,630
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,181
-200 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 1.40
Rank movement Down 45 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,118 | 4,328 | 1.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,585 | 4,381 | 1.49 | +53 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 467 places |
| 2020 | #7,630 | 4,181 | 1.40 | -200 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 45 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 Owings 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 | #7,585 | #7,630 | -0.6% |
| Count | 4,381 | 4,181 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.49 | 1.40 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Owings bearers went from 4,381 to 4,181 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 45 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,585 to #7,630.
FAQ
Owings surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Owings?
Name Census estimates that about 4,794 living Americans carry the surname Owings. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 71,497 residents.
How common is Owings?
Owings ranks #7,630 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.40 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 4,181 people with the surname Owings. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,794), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.40 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 Owings.
Has Owings become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Owings went from 4,381 recorded bearers to 4,181. That is a decrease of 200 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,585 to #7,630.
What does the Census say about the background of Owings?
Among Census respondents with the surname Owings, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) 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 Owings in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (3,726 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Owings appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Two or More Races (3.8%), 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 Owings (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 Owings mean?
Derived from the Old English given name "Ēowin," meaning "friend of the yew tree." 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 Owings (1.40 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 common is the surname Owings?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Owings on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.