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

Thow, 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 Thow surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Thow in America

Thow is the 87663rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Thow surname appeared 212 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 Thow.

We can also compare 2010 data for Thow 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 Thow

The surname THOW has its origins in England, emerging in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the Old English words "tho" and "hoh," which translate to "the ridge" or "the heel," suggesting that the name may have originated from a descriptive term for a geographical feature or settlement situated on a ridge or hill.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname THOW can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1296, where a John de Tho is mentioned. This suggests that the name may have initially been spelled with the "de" prefix, which was common for locational surnames during the Middle Ages.

In the 14th century, the THOW surname appears in various records, such as the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1349, which lists a William Thowe. The spelling variation "Thowe" is also seen in historical documents from this period.

Among the notable individuals bearing the THOW surname throughout history is John Thow, a Scottish writer and historian who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is best known for his work "Provin Antiquitie of the Nation of the Picts," published in 1617, which explored the history and origins of the Pictish people in Scotland.

Another prominent figure with the THOW surname is Sir William Thow, a Scottish lawyer and judge who served as Lord Advocate of Scotland from 1677 to 1681. He played a significant role in the legal and political affairs of Scotland during the turbulent years of the late 17th century.

In the 18th century, William Thow (1711-1785) was a renowned Scottish architect and builder who designed and constructed several notable buildings in Edinburgh, including the Old College of the University of Edinburgh and the Canongate Kirk.

Moving into the 19th century, James Thow (1818-1887) was a Scottish businessman and philanthropist who founded the Thow Trust, a charitable organization that supported educational initiatives and institutions in Scotland.

Lastly, one of the more recent notable individuals with the THOW surname is David Thow (1910-1983), a British artist and painter known for his landscapes and portraits of rural life in Scotland and England.

While the surname THOW may have originated from a descriptive term for a geographical feature, it has since spread across various regions and countries, with individuals bearing this name leaving their mark in various fields throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Thow

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!