2000
#122,534
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Plowe
A variant spelling of the English surname Plough, denoting a ploughman or farmer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Plowe. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Plowe 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Plowe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Plowe, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Black (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Plowe
The surname Plowe is of English origin, and it is believed to have originated in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be a locational name derived from the Old English words 'ploh' or 'plogh', meaning 'plough', and 'leah', meaning 'clearing' or 'meadow'. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a ploughed field or a clearing in a wooded area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Plowe can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where a John atte Plowe is mentioned. This indicates that the name was already in use by the early 14th century. Another early reference is found in the Court Rolls of Walsall, Staffordshire, from 1375, where a Richard atte Plowe is listed.
In the 15th century, there are records of a William Plowe from Northamptonshire, who lived around 1450. In the same century, the Plowe family is also mentioned in the Manorial Records of Oxfordshire, suggesting that they were landowners or held positions of importance in the area.
One notable figure with the surname Plowe was John Plowe, a merchant and alderman who lived in London in the late 16th century. He was born around 1540 and was a member of the Worshipful Company of Drapers, a prestigious guild at the time.
Another historical figure with this surname was Thomas Plowe, a Protestant minister who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was born in Gloucestershire around 1560 and served as a vicar in various parishes in the region.
In the 17th century, the Plowe family is recorded in the parish registers of Warwickshire, where they seem to have been landowners or farmers. One member of this family was William Plowe, who was born in 1635 and lived in the village of Eatington.
The surname Plowe has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Plowe Green in Cambridgeshire and Plowe Hill in Worcestershire, further suggesting its locational origins. Additionally, variations in spelling, such as Plough and Plow, have been observed over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Plowe
Among Census respondents with the surname Plowe, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Black (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Plowe 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 Plowe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 95
- Two or more races3.9% · 4
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Plowe
Plowe 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
#127,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
+4 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 4,960 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-31 bearers (-23.1%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 26,688 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #122,534 | 130 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #127,494 | 134 | 0.05 | +4 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 4,960 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -31 bearers (-23.1%) | Down 26,688 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 Plowe 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 | #127,494 | #154,182 | -20.9% |
| Count | 134 | 103 | -23.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.03 | -31.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Plowe bearers went from 134 to 103 (-23.1% change). The surname moved down 26,688 positions in the national ranking, going from #127,494 to #154,182.
FAQ
Plowe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Plowe?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Plowe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Plowe?
Plowe ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 103 people with the surname Plowe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Plowe.
Has Plowe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Plowe went from 134 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 31 (-23.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #127,494 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Plowe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Plowe, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Black (1.9%). 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 Plowe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Plowe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Black (1.9%). 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 Plowe (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 Plowe mean?
A variant spelling of the English surname Plough, denoting a ploughman or farmer. 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 Plowe (0.03 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 Plowe?
Want to know how many people are called Plowe? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.