How common is the surname Cowles?

6,215 people in the United States had the surname Cowles in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 49,677 Americans. It ranked 5,598th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Cowles?

Matthew Cowles, American actor and playwright (1944-2014), followed by Henry Chandler Cowles.

Where is the surname Cowles most common?

Wikidata records people named Cowles in the United States.

Is the surname Cowles getting more or less common?

More common. 6,165 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 6,215 in 2010, up 0.8%.

The surname Cowles

A patronymic surname, carried by 6,215 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex C420

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Cowles is more common than 96.5% of them.

Origin

From Cole + -s (“patronymic suffix”).

Cowles is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 6,215 people named Cowles in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 49,677 Americans. That is up 0.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 6,165.

#5,598

rank among US surnames

6,215

people in 2010

2.1

per 100,000 Americans

+0.8%

change since 2000 (was #5,207)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#5,594	Ignacio	6,219	49,646
#5,595	Shine	6,217	49,661
#5,596	Click	6,216	49,669
#5,598	Harbison	6,215	49,677
#5,600	McSwain	6,213	49,693

Who is named Cowles

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

90% of people named Cowles identified as white (not Hispanic), 4.2% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 90%
Black (not Hispanic) 4.2%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 2.1%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Cowless

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Matthew Cowles
American actor and playwright (1944-2014)
Henry Chandler Cowles
American botanist (1869-1939)
Lily Cowles
American actress, born 1987

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Cowles

Cowles has the Soundex code C420, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C420.

Questions

Where does the surname Cowles come from?: From Cole + -s (“patronymic suffix”).
How common is the surname Cowles?: 6,215 people in the United States had the surname Cowles in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 49,677 Americans. It ranked 5,598th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Cowles?: In the 2010 Census, 90% of people named Cowles identified as white (not Hispanic), and 4.2% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Cowles?: Matthew Cowles, American actor and playwright (1944-2014), followed by Henry Chandler Cowles.
Where is the surname Cowles most common?: Wikidata records people named Cowles in the United States.
What type of surname is Cowles?: Cowles is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Cowles getting more or less common?: More common. 6,165 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 6,215 in 2010, up 0.8%.