# Dow (surname)

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

A surname transferred from the given name.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 15,472 |
| US rank (2010) | 2,356 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 19,955 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.8% (14,622 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Variant of Daw from David or daw, and of Duff from Scottish Gaelic.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Dow 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) | 83% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 9.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.3% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.8% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Dow in the United States.

## People named Dow

- Charles Dow, American journalist (1851–1902)
- Arthur Wesley Dow, American painter and photographer (1857–1922)
- Peggy Dow, American actress
- Tony Dow, American actor, film director and film producer (1945–2022)
- Neal S. Dow, American Prohibition advocate and politician (1804–1897)
- Nancy Dow, actress, memoirist (1936-2016)

## Similar surnames

Do, Doe, Doi, Dowe, Day, Dye, Dewey, Dao, Du, Dee, Dew, Dai.

## 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.