2000
#13,229
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.78
Rare Last name
Rowlands
A toponymic surname indicating someone from the region of Roland, Normandy or any of several places called Rowland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,439 Americans carry the last name Rowlands. That puts it at #13,641 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 140,531 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rowlands 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 Rowlands with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 140,531
Census rank
#13,641
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,127 bearers of the surname Rowlands in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13641st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rowlands, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rowlands
The surname ROWLANDS has its origins in Wales, deriving from the Welsh personal name Rhosyn, which means "rose". It is believed to have emerged as a hereditary surname during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.
ROWLANDS is a patronymic surname, meaning it was originally formed by adding the possessive suffix "-s" to the personal name Rhosyn. This was a common practice in Wales, where surnames were often derived from the given names of fathers or ancestors.
Early examples of the name can be found in various historical records, such as the Merionethshire Subsidy Rolls of 1292-1293, where it appears as "Rosyn". It is also recorded in the Anglesey Subsidy Roll of 1352 as "Rosyn ap Iorverthap".
The name has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Rosyn ap Gwilym, a Welsh poet who lived in the late 14th century and is known for his works in the cywydd meter.
Another prominent figure with the surname ROWLANDS was Daniel Rowlands (1713-1790), a Welsh Methodist minister and renowned preacher who played a significant role in the Welsh Methodist Revival of the 18th century.
In literature, Henry Rowlands (1655-1723) was a Welsh poet and writer who authored the satirical work "Mona Antiqua Restaurata" (1723), which criticized the antiquarian work of Henry Rowlands (1624-1690), an English writer and clergyman.
The name has also been associated with notable figures in politics and public service. David Rowlands (1782-1835) was a Welsh politician and Member of Parliament for Monmouthshire from 1820 to 1835.
In the field of science, William Rowlands (1860-1924) was a Welsh chemist and mineralogist who made significant contributions to the study of minerals and their crystallographic properties.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the surname ROWLANDS throughout history, demonstrating its deep roots and wide-ranging influence across various fields and disciplines.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rowlands
Among Census respondents with the surname Rowlands, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rowlands 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 Rowlands surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 1,919
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 85
- Two or more races2.9% · 61
- Black or African American1.3% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rowlands
Rowlands 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
#13,612
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,226
+110 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 383 places
2020
#13,641
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,127
-99 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 29 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,229 | 2,116 | 0.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,612 | 2,226 | 0.75 | +110 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 383 places |
| 2020 | #13,641 | 2,127 | 0.71 | -99 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 29 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 Rowlands 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 | #13,612 | #13,641 | -0.2% |
| Count | 2,226 | 2,127 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.71 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rowlands bearers went from 2,226 to 2,127 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 29 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,612 to #13,641.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rowlands
FAQ
Rowlands surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rowlands?
Name Census estimates that about 2,439 living Americans carry the surname Rowlands. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 140,531 residents.
How common is Rowlands?
Rowlands ranks #13,641 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,127 people with the surname Rowlands. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,439), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Rowlands.
Has Rowlands become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rowlands went from 2,226 recorded bearers to 2,127. That is a decrease of 99 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,612 to #13,641.
What does the Census say about the background of Rowlands?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rowlands, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Rowlands in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (1,919 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rowlands appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.2%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Rowlands (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 Rowlands mean?
A toponymic surname indicating someone from the region of Roland, Normandy or any of several places called Rowland. 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 Rowlands (0.71 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 Rowlands?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.