Explore the Family Name Cowley
The meaning of Cowley
1. English: habitational name from any of various places called Cowley. One in Gloucestershire is named with Old English cū ‘cow’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’; two in Derbyshire have Old English col ‘(char)coal’ as the first element; and one near London is from Old English cofa ‘shelter, bay’ (see Cove) or the personal name Cofa. The largest group, however, with examples in Buckinghamshire, Devon, Oxfordshire, and Staffordshire, were apparently named as ‘the wood or clearing of Cufa’; however, in view of the number of places called with this element, it is possible that it conceals a topographic term as well as a personal name. 2. Irish: shortened form of Macaulay (see McCauley). 3. Manx: shortened form of Gaelic Mac Amhlaoibh ‘son of Amhlaoibh’ (a Gaelicized form of Old Norse Óláfr). For an alternative Manx form of the same patronymic see Callow.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Cowley in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Cowley experienced a slight decrease from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Cowley ranked as the 5664th most common surname in the United States, with a count of 5,619 individuals carrying this surname. By 2010, though the total count increased to 5,868 people, the surname's rank dropped to 5881st nationally, indicating a decline in its popularity. The proportion of people with the Cowley surname per 100,000 decreased by 4.33% over the decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,664 | #5,881 | -3.83% |
| Count | 5,619 | 5,868 | 4.43% |
| Proportion per 100k | 2.08 | 1.99 | -4.33% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Cowley
In terms of ethnicity, an analysis of the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals some noteworthy shifts among those with the Cowley surname from 2000 to 2010. A significant increase was observed in the percentage of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and those identifying with two or more ethnicities, showing growth of 120.59% and 58.16%, respectively. There was also a moderate rise in the Hispanic and Black populations, with increases of 13.73% and 9.19%, respectively. Conversely, the White population experienced a slight decrease of 2.29%, while the American Indian and Alaskan Native population saw a modest drop of 8.11%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 88.18% | 86.16% | -2.29% |
| Black | 7.07% | 7.72% | 9.19% |
| Hispanic | 3.06% | 3.48% | 13.73% |
| Two or More Races | 0.98% | 1.55% | 58.16% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.34% | 0.75% | 120.59% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.37% | 0.34% | -8.11% |
Cowley ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Cowley is British & Irish, which comprises 59.9% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (20.1%) and Scandinavian (5.3%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Indigenous American, and Ashkenazi Jewish.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 59.9% |
| French & German | 20.1% |
| Scandinavian | 5.3% |
| Other | 14.7% |
Possible origins of the surname Cowley
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Cowley have recent ancestry locations all within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 93.40% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 93.40% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 93.40% |
| West Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 93.40% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 93.40% |
What Cowley haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Cowley is R-CTS241, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-CTS241 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-P311 and I-L22, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Wold, Dreyer, Jeffrey, Griffith, Wheatley, Webb, North, Browne, Davies, Barnes.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Cowley surname are: H1, N, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Cowley have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Cowley" Surname 37.0%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Cowley" Surname 25.4%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Cowley" Surname 21.1%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Cowley" Surname 19.2%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Cowley?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Cowley are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition