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

Powless, 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 Powless surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Powless in America

Powless is the 26910th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Powless surname appeared 902 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Powless.

We can also compare 2010 data for Powless 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 Powless

The surname Powless originated in England and dates back to the 13th century. It is a locational name derived from the place name Poulehouse, a parish in Devonshire. The name Poulehouse itself comes from the Old English words 'pol' meaning pool or stream, and 'hus' meaning house or dwelling, indicating a homestead located near a pool or stream.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Powless can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Devonshire from 1273, where it appears as 'de Poulehous'. Over time, the spelling evolved to Poullesse, Powlles, and eventually Powless.

In the 16th century, the name Powless appeared in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Tavistock, Devonshire. One notable entry is the marriage of John Powless and Margery Harrys in 1564.

A prominent figure bearing the Powless surname was Sir William Powless (1585-1649), a Member of Parliament for Tavistock and a staunch Royalist during the English Civil War. He was knighted by King Charles I in 1628 for his loyal service.

Another noteworthy individual was Samuel Powless (1712-1783), an English clergyman and author who published several theological works, including "A Discourse on the Nature and Design of the Lord's Supper" in 1758.

In the 18th century, the name Powless was also found in the records of the parish of Chagford, Devonshire. One entry from 1782 mentions the baptism of John Powless, son of William and Mary Powless.

The Powless surname has been associated with various place names in Devonshire, such as Powlesland, a hamlet near Tavistock, and Powlescombe, a farm in the parish of Meavy.

Throughout history, the Powless family has been prominent in the Devonshire region, with several members holding positions of influence in local government, the clergy, and the military.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Powless

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

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

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

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