Explore the Family Name Rowley
The meaning of Rowley
1. English: habitational name from one or more of various places called Rowley or Rowly, such as Rowley Regis (Staffordshire), Rowley (Devon, Durham), Rowleygreen Farm (Hertfordshire), Rowly (Surrey), Rowley (East Yorkshire), Rowley, near Bardsey (Yorkshire), Rowley in Lepton (Yorkshire), and Rowley Hill (Essex). The placenames probably all derive from Old English rūh ‘rough’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’, though the East Yorkshire place may have been named with hlāw ‘mound, hill’ as the second element. 2. Irish: from Ó Roghallaigh, a variant of Ó Raghailligh. See Riley and O’Reilly.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Rowley in the United States?
According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Rowley was ranked 2,261st in popularity in the year 2000 and 2,338th in 2010, marking a slight decrease of 3.41% over the course of the decade. Despite this drop in rank, the actual count of people with the Rowley surname increased from 14,760 in 2000 to 15,588 in 2010, showing a growth of 5.61%. The proportion per 100k also decreased marginally by 3.47%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,261 | #2,338 | -3.41% |
| Count | 14,760 | 15,588 | 5.61% |
| Proportion per 100k | 5.47 | 5.28 | -3.47% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Rowley
The ethnicity distribution for the surname Rowley saw some shifts between 2000 and 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. The percentage of people identifying as White decreased by 2.62%, while those identifying as Hispanic experienced the most significant increase, at 74.70%. Those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander also saw an increase of 42.55%, as did individuals who identify as two or more races, increasing by 42.52%. The percentage of those identifying as Black rose slightly by 6.92%, and American Indian and Alaskan Native increased by 34.15%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 92% | 89.59% | -2.62% |
| Black | 4.19% | 4.48% | 6.92% |
| Hispanic | 1.66% | 2.9% | 74.7% |
| Two or More Races | 1.27% | 1.81% | 42.52% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.47% | 0.67% | 42.55% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.41% | 0.55% | 34.15% |
Rowley 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 Rowley is British & Irish, which comprises 53.9% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (23.8%) and Scandinavian (6.2%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Indigenous American, and Ashkenazi Jewish.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 53.9% |
| French & German | 23.8% |
| Scandinavian | 6.2% |
| Other | 16.1% |
Possible origins of the surname Rowley
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 Rowley have recent ancestry locations all within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 89.70% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 89.70% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 89.50% |
| Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom | 89.30% |
| West Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 89.00% |
What Rowley 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 Rowley is R-U152, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-U152 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-CTS241 and R-L21, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Hoskins, Millard, Bradshaw, Funk, Garland, Pruitt, Tait, Brink, Landers, Emmons.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Rowley surname are: H1, T2b, 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 Rowley 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.
"Rowley" Surname 41.7%
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.
"Rowley" Surname 23.5%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Rowley" Surname 23.7%
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.
"Rowley" Surname 20.1%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Rowley?
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 Rowley are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition