2000
#19,079
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,319
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.49
Rare Last name
Cowherd
A surname derived from an occupation related to herding or tending cows.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,515 Americans carry the last name Cowherd. That puts it at #20,336 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 226,240 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cowherd surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
1.5K
1 in 226,240
Census rank
#20,336
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,321 bearers of the surname Cowherd in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 20336th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cowherd, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.9%. The next largest groups are Black (35.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cowherd
The surname Cowherd is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is an occupational surname derived from the Old English words "cu" meaning cow and "hierde" meaning herd or herder. This name would have been given to someone who tended to or herded cows for a living.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Cowherd can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, a census-like record from the reign of King Edward I. In these rolls, a William le Cuphird is mentioned as residing in Oxfordshire. The prefix "le" was commonly used before occupational surnames during this era.
The Cowherds were primarily concentrated in the rural counties of southern and central England, such as Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Wiltshire, where livestock farming was a common occupation. The spelling variations of the name included Couhird, Cowherd, Coweherde, and Cowehurd.
In the 16th century, the Cowherd surname appears in the Muster Roll of the English Militia from 1539, which lists a John Cowherd from Buckinghamshire. This record provides evidence of the surname's continued use and presence in England during the Tudor period.
Notable individuals with the surname Cowherd throughout history include:
1. Thomas Cowherd (c. 1598 - 1689), an English clergyman and writer from Berkshire.
2. John Cowherd (1670 - 1726), a British Member of Parliament from Wiltshire.
3. Mary Cowherd (1778 - 1858), an English painter and engraver from Oxfordshire.
4. William Cowherd (1763 - 1816), a British merchant and industrialist from Lancashire.
5. James Cowherd (1849 - 1927), an American politician and lawyer from Missouri.
The surname Cowherd is also found in some place names, such as Cowherd's Wood in Oxfordshire, which likely derived its name from a family or individual with the Cowherd surname residing in or owning that area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cowherd
Among Census respondents with the surname Cowherd, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.9%. The next largest groups are Black (35.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Cowherd bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Cowherd surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.9% · 752
- Black or African American35.4% · 468
- Two or more races4.5% · 59
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cowherd
Cowherd appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#19,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,377
+58 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.47
Rank movement Down 511 places
2020
#20,336
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,321
-56 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.44
Rank movement Down 746 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #19,079 | 1,319 | 0.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #19,590 | 1,377 | 0.47 | +58 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 511 places |
| 2020 | #20,336 | 1,321 | 0.44 | -56 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 746 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Cowherd surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #19,590 | #20,336 | -3.8% |
| Count | 1,377 | 1,321 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.47 | 0.44 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cowherd bearers went from 1,377 to 1,321 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 746 positions in the national ranking, going from #19,590 to #20,336.
FAQ
Cowherd surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cowherd?
Name Census estimates that about 1,515 living Americans carry the surname Cowherd. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 226,240 residents.
How common is Cowherd?
Cowherd ranks #20,336 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.44 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,321 people with the surname Cowherd. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,515), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.44 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Cowherd.
Has Cowherd become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cowherd went from 1,377 recorded bearers to 1,321. That is a decrease of 56 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #19,590 to #20,336.
What does the Census say about the background of Cowherd?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cowherd, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.9%. The next largest groups are Black (35.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cowherd in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.9% (752 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cowherd appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (56.9%), Black (35.4%), Two or More Races (4.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Cowherd (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Cowherd mean?
A surname derived from an occupation related to herding or tending cows. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Cowherd (0.44 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Cowherd?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.