2010
#132,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rowdy
A surname derived from the word "rude", referring to someone with a boisterous or unruly nature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Rowdy. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rowdy 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Rowdy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rowdy, the largest self-reported group is Black at 90.1%. The next largest groups are White (7.2%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rowdy
The surname Rowdy is believed to have originated in England, likely in the late 16th or early 17th century. It is thought to be a variant spelling or an anglicized form of the French surname "Roudy" or "Roudie," which itself may be derived from the Old French word "rude" meaning "rough" or "uncouth."
Rowdy was likely an occupational surname initially given to someone who had a rough or unrefined manner, or possibly to someone who worked in a rough or rugged occupation such as a blacksmith or a stonemason. The name may also have been used as a descriptive nickname for someone with a boisterous or rowdy personality.
Some of the earliest recorded references to the surname Rowdy can be found in parish records and court documents from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. For example, a William Rowdy is mentioned in the records of the Court of Chancery in 1598. Another early record is of a John Rowdy, who was baptized in the parish of St. Giles Cripplegate, London, in 1621.
In terms of notable individuals with the surname Rowdy, one of the earliest was Thomas Rowdy, a merchant and ship owner who lived in the late 17th century. He is mentioned in several historical records related to maritime trade in the Port of London.
Another noteworthy individual was James Rowdy (1712-1786), a British architect who was active in the mid-18th century. He is known for his work on several churches and country houses in the English Midlands.
In the 19th century, Henry Rowdy (1836-1912) was a prominent British industrialist and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the coal mining industry and later donated a significant portion of his wealth to various charitable causes.
Moving into the 20th century, one notable figure with the surname Rowdy was Sir Arthur Rowdy (1879-1958), a British diplomat who served as ambassador to several countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union.
Finally, in more recent times, there was Eileen Rowdy (1919-2002), an American author and educator who wrote several books on children's literature and storytelling.
While the surname Rowdy is not exceptionally common, it has a long and interesting history, with notable bearers of the name appearing in various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rowdy
Among Census respondents with the surname Rowdy, the largest self-reported group is Black at 90.1%. The next largest groups are White (7.2%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Rowdy 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 Rowdy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.1% · 100
- White7.2% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rowdy
Rowdy appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-17 bearers (-13.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,459 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #132,206 | 128 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-13.3%) | Down 16,459 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 Rowdy 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 | #132,206 | #148,665 | -12.4% |
| Count | 128 | 111 | -13.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rowdy bearers went from 128 to 111 (-13.3% change). The surname moved down 16,459 positions in the national ranking, going from #132,206 to #148,665.
FAQ
Rowdy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rowdy?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Rowdy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Rowdy?
Rowdy ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 111 people with the surname Rowdy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Rowdy.
Has Rowdy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rowdy went from 128 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 17 (-13.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #132,206 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Rowdy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rowdy, the largest self-reported group is Black at 90.1%. The next largest groups are White (7.2%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Rowdy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rowdy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (90.1%), White (7.2%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Rowdy (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 Rowdy mean?
A surname derived from the word "rude", referring to someone with a boisterous or unruly nature. 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 Rowdy (0.04 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 Rowdy?
Want to know how common the surname Rowdy is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.