2000
#2,261
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,760
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.47
Uncommon Last name
Rowley
Derived from a place name meaning "Rolf's meadow" in Old English, referring to a person who lived there.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,574 Americans carry the last name Rowley. That puts it at #2,320 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,503 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rowley 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 Rowley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 19,503
Census rank
#2,320
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,325 bearers of the surname Rowley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2320th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rowley, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Black (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rowley
The surname Rowley has its origins in England, with records dating back to the 11th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "ra" meaning rough and "leah" meaning woodland clearing, referring to someone who lived in or near a rough woodland clearing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rowley can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Rauleia" and "Raueleia." This suggests that the name was already well-established in parts of England by the time of the Norman Conquest.
During the Middle Ages, the name appeared in various forms, including Ralegh, Rawley, and Rowleigh, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling. One notable bearer of the name was Sir Walter Raleigh (c. 1552-1618), an English writer, poet, soldier, and explorer who is best known for his expeditions to the Americas and his role in establishing the first English colony on Roanoke Island.
In the 16th century, the Rowley surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire, Staffordshire, and Derbyshire. The village of Rowley Regis in the West Midlands is believed to have taken its name from a family that lived in the area during this period.
Another notable figure with the Rowley surname was William Rowley (c. 1585-1642), an English dramatist and playwright who collaborated with several prominent writers of the Jacobean era, including William Shakespeare, John Fletcher, and Thomas Middleton.
In the 18th century, Thomas Rowley (1721-1796) was a renowned English clergyman and antiquarian who is best remembered for his literary forgeries, which he claimed were the works of a 15th-century monk named Thomas Rowley. These forgeries sparked a heated debate in literary circles and earned him both praise and criticism.
The 19th century saw the rise of Sir Joshua Rowley (1804-1859), a British naval officer and explorer who served as the Governor of the Bahamas and the Governor of British Honduras (now Belize). He played a significant role in the establishment of British settlements in the Caribbean and Central America.
Throughout history, the Rowley surname has been associated with various occupations, including farmers, landowners, clergymen, writers, and military personnel, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and experiences of those who bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rowley
Among Census respondents with the surname Rowley, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Black (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Rowley 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 Rowley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.3% · 13,230
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 671
- Black or African American4.4% · 668
- Two or more races3.7% · 570
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 111
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 75
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rowley
Rowley 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
#2,338
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,588
+828 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 5.28
Rank movement Down 77 places
2020
#2,320
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,325
-263 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 5.13
Rank movement Up 18 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,261 | 14,760 | 5.47 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,338 | 15,588 | 5.28 | +828 bearers (+5.6%) | Down 77 places |
| 2020 | #2,320 | 15,325 | 5.13 | -263 bearers (-1.7%) | Up 18 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 Rowley 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 | #2,338 | #2,320 | 0.8% |
| Count | 15,588 | 15,325 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 5.28 | 5.13 | -2.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rowley bearers went from 15,588 to 15,325 (-1.7% change). The surname moved up 18 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,338 to #2,320.
FAQ
Rowley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rowley?
Name Census estimates that about 17,574 living Americans carry the surname Rowley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,503 residents.
How common is Rowley?
Rowley ranks #2,320 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.13 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,325 people with the surname Rowley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,574), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.13 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Rowley.
Has Rowley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rowley went from 15,588 recorded bearers to 15,325. That is a decrease of 263 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,338 to #2,320.
What does the Census say about the background of Rowley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rowley, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Black (4.4%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Rowley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (13,230 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rowley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.3%), Hispanic (4.4%), Black (4.4%). 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 Rowley (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 Rowley mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "Rolf's meadow" in Old English, referring to a person who lived there. 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 Rowley (5.13 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 surname Rowley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.