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

Powell, 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 Powell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Powell in America

Powell is the 101st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Powell surname appeared 224,874 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 76 people would have the surname Powell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Powell 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 Powell

The surname Powell is believed to have originated in Wales, deriving from the Old Welsh words 'ap' and 'Howel', which together mean 'son of Howel'. Howel was a popular Welsh name derived from the Latin name 'Hywel', meaning 'outstanding boy'. The name is thought to have first emerged in the 12th century.

Powell is considered a patronymic name, meaning it originally identified the bearer as the son of someone named Howel. Over time, the prefix 'ap' was dropped, and the name evolved into its current form, Powell. In the 13th century, the name appeared in records as 'Ap Howel' and 'Ap Howell'.

One of the earliest known references to the surname Powell can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was recorded as 'Apohowel'. This suggests that the name was already in use by the time of the Norman Conquest.

In the 14th century, the name was recorded as 'Poel' and 'Poell' in various records, reflecting the evolution of its spelling. By the 16th century, the spelling had stabilized to its current form, 'Powell'.

Notable historical figures with the surname Powell include Sir John Powell (1572-1645), a Welsh soldier and Member of Parliament during the English Civil War, and Sir William Powell (1598-1662), a Welsh judge and politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons.

Other notable individuals bearing the surname include William Dempster Powell (1772-1854), a Scottish explorer and surveyor, and Lewis Powell (1844-1865), a Confederate soldier and one of the conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Anthony Powell (1905-2000) was a renowned English novelist, best known for his 12-novel sequence 'A Dance to the Music of Time'.

The surname Powell has also been associated with various place names in Wales, such as Powellton and Powellsville, reflecting the name's Welsh origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Powell

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

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

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

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