# Cowley (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/cowley/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A habitational surname from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 5,868 |
| US rank (2010) | 5,881 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 52,615 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.4% (5,619 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkaʊli/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Various origins: * The village in Gloucestershire is from Old English cū (“cow”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”); equivalent to cow + -ley (“lea”). * The hamlet in Derbyshire is from Old English col (“coal”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”); equivalent to coal + -ley (“lea”). * The other places in England are from the Old English personal name Cufa + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Cowley in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 86% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 7.7% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.8% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 1.6% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Cowley in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

## People named Cowley

- Patrick Cowley, American musician (1950–1982)
- Malcolm Cowley, American novelist (1898–1989)
- Rhydian Cowley, Australian male racewalker
- Elizabeth Jill Cowley, British botanist

## Similar surnames

Cole, Cooley, Coyle, Coley, Colley, Cawley, Collie, Clow, Caley, Coale, Cowell, Clay.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.