2000
#7,844
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,915
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.45
Rare Last name
Powe
Derived from the Welsh ap Hywel, meaning "son of Hywel," a personal name meaning "eminent" or "prominent."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,697 Americans carry the last name Powe. That puts it at #7,773 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 72,973 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Powe 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Powe with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.7K
1 in 72,973
Census rank
#7,773
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,096 bearers of the surname Powe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7773rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Powe, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.0%. The next largest groups are White (21.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Powe
The surname POWE is believed to have originated in England, with roots dating back to the late medieval period. It is thought to be a locational surname, derived from a place name such as Powe in Devonshire or a similar location.
This surname may have evolved from the Old English word "paw," which referred to a raised or elevated place, suggesting that the earliest bearers of the name lived near a hill or raised ground. Alternatively, some scholars propose that POWE could be a variant spelling of the French surname "Pouhe," derived from the Old French word "poue," meaning a hillock or small hill.
One of the earliest known recorded instances of the POWE surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, which mentions a Thomas de la Powe. This suggests that the surname was already established in England by the 13th century.
Among the notable historical figures who bore the POWE surname was John Powe (c. 1520 - 1585), an English cleric and academic who served as the President of St John's College, Oxford, from 1576 until his death. Another prominent individual was Richard Powe (1628 - 1679), an English lawyer and judge who served as a Justice of the King's Bench during the reign of King Charles II.
In the 16th century, records show a family of Powes residing in the village of Compton Pauncefoot, Somerset. This may be an early example of the surname's association with a specific location.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, a Royalist soldier named Captain Thomas Powe (c. 1610 - 1660) fought for King Charles I and was captured by Parliamentary forces at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.
Another notable figure was John Powe (1691 - 1758), an English merchant and philanthropist from Bristol, who made significant charitable donations to various causes during his lifetime.
Throughout history, the POWE surname has also appeared with various spellings, such as Pow, Pou, and Poue, reflecting the linguistic and regional variations that were common in earlier centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Powe
Among Census respondents with the surname Powe, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.0%. The next largest groups are White (21.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Powe 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 Powe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American70.0% · 2,866
- White21.1% · 865
- Two or more races5.1% · 209
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 126
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Powe
Powe 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
#7,821
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,233
+318 bearers (+8.1%)
Per 100,000 1.44
Rank movement Up 23 places
2020
#7,773
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,096
-137 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.37
Rank movement Up 48 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,844 | 3,915 | 1.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,821 | 4,233 | 1.44 | +318 bearers (+8.1%) | Up 23 places |
| 2020 | #7,773 | 4,096 | 1.37 | -137 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 48 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 Powe 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 | #7,821 | #7,773 | 0.6% |
| Count | 4,233 | 4,096 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.44 | 1.37 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Powe bearers went from 4,233 to 4,096 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 48 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,821 to #7,773.
FAQ
Powe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Powe?
Name Census estimates that about 4,697 living Americans carry the surname Powe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 72,973 residents.
How common is Powe?
Powe ranks #7,773 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.37 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 4,096 people with the surname Powe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,697), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.37 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 Powe.
Has Powe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Powe went from 4,233 recorded bearers to 4,096. That is a decrease of 137 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,821 to #7,773.
What does the Census say about the background of Powe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Powe, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.0%. The next largest groups are White (21.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Powe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.0% (2,866 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Powe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (70.0%), White (21.1%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Powe (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 Powe mean?
Derived from the Welsh ap Hywel, meaning "son of Hywel," a personal name meaning "eminent" or "prominent." 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 Powe (1.37 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 last name Powe?
You can see how many people have the last name Powe on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.