Explore the Family Name Otwell

The meaning of Otwell

English: variant of Ottewell, from the Middle English and Old French personal name Otuel, a pet form of Otewi (see Ottaway). This surname is now rare in Britain.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Otwell in the United States?

The data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals that the popularity of the surname Otwell has slightly decreased over a decade. In 2000, Otwell was ranked 16,562 in terms of popularity and increased to 17,087 in 2010, indicating a decline of 3.17%. Despite this, the count of individuals with this surname rose from 1,596 to 1,661, showing a growth of 4.07%. However, the proportion of people named Otwell per 100k decreased by 5.08%, from 0.59 in 2000 to 0.56 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#16,562	#17,087	-3.17%
Count	1,596	1,661	4.07%
Proportion per 100k	0.59	0.56	-5.08%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Otwell

Analyzing the ethnic identity associated with the surname Otwell, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows some notable shifts between 2000 and 2010. The majority of individuals with this surname identify as White, although there was a slight decrease from 96.43% to 94.46% within this decade. The Hispanic ethnicity experienced significant growth, rising from 1.50% to 2.59%. Although small in proportion, people identifying as Two or more races and Black emerged with 1.51% and 0.48% respectively in 2010, where no such percentage was recorded in 2000. Both Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native identities saw decreases, with the latter dropping by over half from 0.63% to 0.30%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.43%	94.46%	-2.04%
Hispanic	1.5%	2.59%	72.67%
Two or More Races	0%	1.51%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.75%	0.66%	-12%
Black	0%	0.48%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.63%	0.3%	-52.38%