Fowler
One whose occupation involves catching or hunting fowl or birds.
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the first name Fowler. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Fowler today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fowler births was 1922 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fowler. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
114
~ 1 in 3,006,617 Americans
Peak year
1922
16 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,253
Tracked since 1915
Census
Fowler in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 252 people with the first name Fowler, which placed it at #33,030 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#33,030
National first-name rank
People counted
252
252 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fowler
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fowler is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Fowler described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Fowler at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.1% · 207
- Black or African American9.5% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 8
- Two or more races2.8% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
Popularity
Fowler: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fowler from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 75 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Fowler remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fowler by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Fowler during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fowlers live
Origin
Meaning and history of Fowler
The name Fowler originates from the Old English word "fugelere," which means "bird-catcher" or "hunter of wild birds." It is derived from the words "fugol" (bird) and the agent suffix "-ere" (one who does something). This occupation-based name first emerged in the medieval period, around the 12th century, in England.
The name Fowler was initially used to identify individuals whose profession involved catching and hunting birds, either for food or for the purpose of selling them. These fowlers often worked in rural areas and forests, using various techniques like nets, traps, and falcons to capture their prey.
In ancient times, fowling was a common practice, not only for sustenance but also for recreational purposes among nobility. The name Fowler can be found in historical records and documents from the Middle Ages, particularly in England and other parts of the British Isles.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fowler appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Fowler, indicating the occupation's prevalence during that period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the name Fowler. One example is John Fowler, an English inventor and engineer who lived from 1826 to 1864. He is credited with designing and manufacturing steam-powered plowing engines and other agricultural machinery.
Another prominent figure was Sarah Fowler, an American Quaker activist and abolitionist born in 1776. She devoted her life to advocating for the abolition of slavery and promoting women's rights.
In the realm of literature, John Fowler was an English printer and publisher from the 16th century. He is known for publishing works by prominent authors such as Edmund Spenser and Sir Philip Sidney.
The name Fowler has also been associated with the world of sports. One notable example is Jim Fowler, an American zoologist and host of the television show "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom," who lived from 1922 to 1998.
Additionally, Edward Fowler was an English churchman and philosopher who served as the Bishop of Gloucester from 1691 to 1714. He made significant contributions to the field of philosophy and theology during his lifetime.
Throughout the centuries, the name Fowler has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, reflecting its origin as an occupational name and its enduring presence in various cultures and societies.
People
Fowler + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fowler as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Fowler: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fowler?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 114 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fowler going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,006,617 US residents.
Is Fowler a common name?
We classify Fowler as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 268 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fowler most popular?
The single biggest year for Fowler was 1922, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fowler is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fowler in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 252 people with the name Fowler, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,030 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Fowler in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Fowler?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Fowler on both sides of the split. Of the 256 people counted with this name, 195 were male (76.2%) and 61 were female (23.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Fowler?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fowler is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Fowler most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Fowler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (207 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Fowler in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fowler a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fowler in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Fowler still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fowler in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Fowler can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Fowler?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Fowler at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.