2000
#91
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 216,553
First available Census row
Per 100,000 80.28
Common Last name
Powell
From the Welsh ap Hywel, meaning "son of Hywel," with Hywel meaning "eminent" or "remarkable."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 248,737 Americans carry the last name Powell. That puts it at #105 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 72.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,378 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Powell 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Powell with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
249K
1 in 1,378
Census rank
#105
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
72.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
217K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 216,911 bearers of the surname Powell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 72.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 105th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Powell, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Powell
The surname Powell is believed to have originated in Wales, deriving from the Old Welsh words 'ap' and 'Howel', which together mean 'son of Howel'. Howel was a popular Welsh name derived from the Latin name 'Hywel', meaning 'outstanding boy'. The name is thought to have first emerged in the 12th century.
Powell is considered a patronymic name, meaning it originally identified the bearer as the son of someone named Howel. Over time, the prefix 'ap' was dropped, and the name evolved into its current form, Powell. In the 13th century, the name appeared in records as 'Ap Howel' and 'Ap Howell'.
One of the earliest known references to the surname Powell can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was recorded as 'Apohowel'. This suggests that the name was already in use by the time of the Norman Conquest.
In the 14th century, the name was recorded as 'Poel' and 'Poell' in various records, reflecting the evolution of its spelling. By the 16th century, the spelling had stabilized to its current form, 'Powell'.
Notable historical figures with the surname Powell include Sir John Powell (1572-1645), a Welsh soldier and Member of Parliament during the English Civil War, and Sir William Powell (1598-1662), a Welsh judge and politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons.
Other notable individuals bearing the surname include William Dempster Powell (1772-1854), a Scottish explorer and surveyor, and Lewis Powell (1844-1865), a Confederate soldier and one of the conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Anthony Powell (1905-2000) was a renowned English novelist, best known for his 12-novel sequence 'A Dance to the Music of Time'.
The surname Powell has also been associated with various place names in Wales, such as Powellton and Powellsville, reflecting the name's Welsh origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Powell
Among Census respondents with the surname Powell, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Powell 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 Powell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.2% · 139,338
- Black or African American26.7% · 58,014
- Two or more races4.6% · 9,938
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 7,023
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1,338
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1,260
Timeline
Historical Census data for Powell
Powell 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
#101
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 224,874
+8,321 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 76.23
Rank movement Down 10 places
2020
#105
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 216,911
-7,963 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 72.57
Rank movement Down 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #91 | 216,553 | 80.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #101 | 224,874 | 76.23 | +8,321 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 10 places |
| 2020 | #105 | 216,911 | 72.57 | -7,963 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 4 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 Powell 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 | #101 | #105 | -4.0% |
| Count | 224,874 | 216,911 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 76.23 | 72.57 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Powell bearers went from 224,874 to 216,911 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #101 to #105.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Powell
FAQ
Powell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Powell?
Name Census estimates that about 248,737 living Americans carry the surname Powell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,378 residents.
How common is Powell?
Powell ranks #105 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 72.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 73 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 216,911 people with the surname Powell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (248,737), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 72.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 72.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 73 of them to have the surname Powell.
Has Powell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Powell went from 224,874 recorded bearers to 216,911. That is a decrease of 7,963 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #101 to #105.
What does the Census say about the background of Powell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Powell, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Powell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.2% (139,338 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Powell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.2%), Black (26.7%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Powell (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 Powell mean?
From the Welsh ap Hywel, meaning "son of Hywel," with Hywel meaning "eminent" or "remarkable." 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 Powell (72.57 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 have the last name Powell?
Find out how many people are called Powell on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.