# Owens (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/owens/  
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) | 182,719 |
| US rank (2010) | 140 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 1,690 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.6% (176,334 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Owings |

## Etymology

From Owen + -s (patronymic suffix).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Owens 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) | 66% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 28% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.8% |
| Two or more races | 2.5% |

## Where

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

## People named Owens

- Jesse Owens, American track and field athlete (1913–1980)
- Candace Owens, American political commentator (born 1989)
- Buck Owens, American country singer-songwriter (1929-2006)
- Terrell Owens, American football player (born 1973)
- Delia Owens, American author and zoologist
- Ryan Owens, British cyclist
- Billy Owens, American basketball player (born 1969)
- Rick Owens, American fashion designer (born 1962)
- Burgess Owens, American politician and former football player (born 1951)
- Gary Owens, American radio announcer
- Bill Owens, American politician
- Geoffrey Owens, American actor

and 21 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Owings, Ong, Ouyang.

## 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.