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

Rowlands, 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 Rowlands surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rowlands in America

Rowlands is the 13612th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rowlands surname appeared 2,226 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Rowlands.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rowlands 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 Rowlands

The surname ROWLANDS has its origins in Wales, deriving from the Welsh personal name Rhosyn, which means "rose". It is believed to have emerged as a hereditary surname during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.

ROWLANDS is a patronymic surname, meaning it was originally formed by adding the possessive suffix "-s" to the personal name Rhosyn. This was a common practice in Wales, where surnames were often derived from the given names of fathers or ancestors.

Early examples of the name can be found in various historical records, such as the Merionethshire Subsidy Rolls of 1292-1293, where it appears as "Rosyn". It is also recorded in the Anglesey Subsidy Roll of 1352 as "Rosyn ap Iorverthap".

The name has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Rosyn ap Gwilym, a Welsh poet who lived in the late 14th century and is known for his works in the cywydd meter.

Another prominent figure with the surname ROWLANDS was Daniel Rowlands (1713-1790), a Welsh Methodist minister and renowned preacher who played a significant role in the Welsh Methodist Revival of the 18th century.

In literature, Henry Rowlands (1655-1723) was a Welsh poet and writer who authored the satirical work "Mona Antiqua Restaurata" (1723), which criticized the antiquarian work of Henry Rowlands (1624-1690), an English writer and clergyman.

The name has also been associated with notable figures in politics and public service. David Rowlands (1782-1835) was a Welsh politician and Member of Parliament for Monmouthshire from 1820 to 1835.

In the field of science, William Rowlands (1860-1924) was a Welsh chemist and mineralogist who made significant contributions to the study of minerals and their crystallographic properties.

These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the surname ROWLANDS throughout history, demonstrating its deep roots and wide-ranging influence across various fields and disciplines.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rowlands

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

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

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

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