How common is the surname Barrow?

16,801 people in the United States had the surname Barrow in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 18,377 Americans. It ranked 2,159th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Barrow?

Adama Barrow, 3rd President of the Gambia, followed by Errol Barrow.

Where is the surname Barrow most common?

Wikidata records people named Barrow in the United States, Barbados and the United Kingdom and 3 other countries.

How do you pronounce Barrow?

Barrow is /ˈbæɹoʊ/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Barrow getting more or less common?

More common. 15,277 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 16,801 in 2010, up 10%.

The surname Barrow

An English surname, carried by 16,801 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈbæɹoʊ/ 2 syllables Soundex B600

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Barrow is more common than 98.7% of them.

Origin

English origin

English surname, from placenames derived from Old English bearu (“grove”). The place in Furness is of Celtic origin, from *barros (“promontory, peak”) + Old Norse ey (“island”). The place in Alaska, now known as Utqiagvik, was named after nearby Point Barrow (Nuvuk). In 1826, Point Barrow was named after Sir John Barrow, a British geographer.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 16,801 people named Barrow in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 18,377 Americans. That is up 10% since 2000, when the Census counted 15,277.

#2,159

rank among US surnames

16,801

people in 2010

5.7

per 100,000 Americans

+10%

change since 2000 (was #2,184)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,150	Hamlin	16,871	18,300
#2,152	Schwab	16,870	18,301
#2,153	Gauthier	16,852	18,321
#2,154	Haskins	16,842	18,332
#2,155	Stovall	16,827	18,348
#2,156	Rooney	16,823	18,353
#2,157	Coe	16,819	18,357

Who is named Barrow

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

67% of people named Barrow identified as white (not Hispanic), 27% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 67%
Black (not Hispanic) 27%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.5%
Two or more races 2.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Barrows

13 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Adama Barrow
3rd President of the Gambia, born 1965
Errol Barrow
Barbadian politician (1920-1987)
Daniel Barrow
American rower, 1909–1993
Nita Barrow
BGovernor-General of Barbados, 1916–1995
John Barrow
American politician (born 1955)
Sarah Barrow
British diver, born 1988
Bernard Barrow
American actor (1927-1993)
Arthur Barrow
American musician, born 1952
Alexander Barrow
American politician (1801–1846)
Pope Barrow
American politician (1839-1903)
Typh Barrow
Belgian singer-songwriter and pianist, born 1987
Tim Barrow
British diplomat, born 1964

Notable Barrows come mostly from the United States (6), Barbados (2) and the United Kingdom (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Barrow

Barrow has the Soundex code B600, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B600.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Barrow come from?: English surname, from placenames derived from Old English bearu (“grove”). The place in Furness is of Celtic origin, from *barros (“promontory, peak”) + Old Norse ey (“island”). The place in Alaska, now known as Utqiagvik, was named after nearby Point Barrow (Nuvuk). In 1826, Point Barrow was…
How common is the surname Barrow?: 16,801 people in the United States had the surname Barrow in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 18,377 Americans. It ranked 2,159th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Barrow?: In the 2010 Census, 67% of people named Barrow identified as white (not Hispanic), and 27% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Barrow?: Adama Barrow, 3rd President of the Gambia, followed by Errol Barrow.
Where is the surname Barrow most common?: Wikidata records people named Barrow in the United States, Barbados and the United Kingdom and 3 other countries.
How do you pronounce Barrow?: Barrow is /ˈbæɹoʊ/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Barrow getting more or less common?: More common. 15,277 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 16,801 in 2010, up 10%.