Yowell last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Yowell

Derived from a place name meaning "hill frequented by birds of prey" in Old English.

Yowell, 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 Yowell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Yowell in America

Yowell is the 9784th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Yowell surname appeared 3,311 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 Yowell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Yowell 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 9784 7779 22.83%
Count 3,311 3,938 -17.30%
Proportion per 100k 1.12 1.46 -26.36%

The history of the last name Yowell

The surname YOWELL is believed to have originated in England, dating back to the 13th century. It is thought to have derived from the Old English word "yofel," which means "yule" or "Christmas." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone born around the Christmas season or someone who lived near a place associated with the holiday.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the YOWELL surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1273, where it appears as "Yovill." This spelling variation likely arose due to the influence of the town of Yeovil in Somerset, which was historically known as "Yovill" or "Yvyll."

In the 14th century, the name appeared in various tax records and legal documents, such as the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1327, where it was spelled as "Yowell." This spelling seems to have become more standardized over time, although variations like "Youell" and "Yewell" were also common.

One notable historical figure with the YOWELL surname was John Yowell, who lived in the late 16th century and was a prominent merchant in Bristol, England. Another individual of note was Thomas Yowell, born in 1609 in Gloucestershire, who was a prominent Puritan and a member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early days of British settlement in North America.

In the 17th century, the YOWELL surname made its way across the Atlantic, with several families of that name settling in Virginia and other American colonies. One such individual was William Yowell, born in 1635 in Virginia, who was a landowner and planter in the colony.

Another significant figure with the YOWELL surname was Samuel Yowell, born in 1718 in Virginia. He was a prominent surveyor and cartographer who worked extensively in the Ohio Valley region, contributing to the mapping and exploration of the American frontier.

As the centuries progressed, the YOWELL surname continued to spread throughout England, the United States, and other parts of the English-speaking world, with various branches and families establishing themselves in different regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Yowell

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

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 Yowell was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 81.46% 2,697
Non-Hispanic Black Only 13.47% 446
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.66% 22
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.66% 22
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.30% 43
Hispanic Origin 2.45% 81

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 Yowell has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 81.46% 90.48% -10.49%
Black 13.47% 4.98% 92.03%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.66% 0.48% 31.58%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.66% 0.94% -35.00%
Two or More Races 1.30% 1.32% -1.53%
Hispanic 2.45% 1.80% 30.59%

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Yowell, 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!

"Yowell last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/yowell-surname-popularity/.

"Yowell last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/yowell-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Yowell last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/yowell-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.