2000
#35,387
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 602
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.22
Very Rare Last name
Dowis
A locational surname derived from a place name, possibly originating from Wales.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 686 Americans carry the last name Dowis. That puts it at #39,643 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 499,642 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dowis 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
686
1 in 499,642
Census rank
#39,643
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
598
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 598 bearers of the surname Dowis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 39643rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dowis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dowis
The surname DOWIS originated in England during the late medieval period. It is believed to be a variant spelling of the more common surname Davis, which itself is derived from the given name David. The name David stems from the Hebrew name דָּוִד (Daveed), meaning "beloved".
In its earliest known spellings, the surname appeared as Dowis or Dowys in various records from the 13th and 14th centuries. These included tax rolls, parish registers, and manorial court records from various counties across southern England, particularly in Wiltshire, Dorset, and Somerset.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was John Dowis, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls for Dorset in 1268. Another early reference can be found in the Subsidy Rolls for Wiltshire from 1332, which listed a Richard Dowys from the village of Chippenham.
The Dowis surname is also found in the Lay Subsidy Rolls for Somerset from 1327, where a William Dowys was listed as a resident of the village of Compton Dunden. This village's name was derived from the Old English words "cumb" meaning a short valley, and "dun" meaning a hill, suggesting that the Dowis family may have originated from this area.
One notable bearer of the name was Sir John Dowis, a member of the English gentry who lived in the late 15th century. He served as a justice of the peace for Somerset and was recorded as holding lands in the village of Midsomer Norton.
Another individual of note was Thomas Dowis, who was born in Wiltshire around 1550. He was a prominent figure in the English Reformation and served as a Protestant minister in the Church of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 17th century, the Dowis surname also appeared in various records from the county of Devon. One example is William Dowis, who was baptized in the parish of Littleham in 1632.
Other notable bearers of the Dowis name include James Dowis (1763-1842), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and Edward Dowis (1810-1888), a successful merchant and landowner from Gloucestershire.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dowis
Among Census respondents with the surname Dowis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Dowis 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 Dowis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 550
- Black or African American3.0% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 15
- Two or more races1.8% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dowis
Dowis 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
#40,672
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 537
-65 bearers (-10.8%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 5,285 places
2020
#39,643
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 598
+61 bearers (+11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Up 1,029 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #35,387 | 602 | 0.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #40,672 | 537 | 0.18 | -65 bearers (-10.8%) | Down 5,285 places |
| 2020 | #39,643 | 598 | 0.20 | +61 bearers (+11.4%) | Up 1,029 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 Dowis 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 | #40,672 | #39,643 | 2.5% |
| Count | 537 | 598 | 11.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.18 | 0.20 | 11.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dowis bearers went from 537 to 598 (+11.4% change). The surname moved up 1,029 positions in the national ranking, going from #40,672 to #39,643.
FAQ
Dowis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dowis?
Name Census estimates that about 686 living Americans carry the surname Dowis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 499,642 residents.
How common is Dowis?
Dowis ranks #39,643 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.20 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 598 people with the surname Dowis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (686), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.20 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 Dowis.
Has Dowis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dowis went from 537 recorded bearers to 598. That is an increase of 61 (+11.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #40,672 to #39,643.
What does the Census say about the background of Dowis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dowis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Dowis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (550 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dowis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Black (3.0%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Dowis (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 Dowis mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name, possibly originating from Wales. 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 Dowis (0.20 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 Americans have the surname Dowis?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.