2000
#3,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,908
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.67
Uncommon Last name
Stowe
Place-name derived from Old English meaning "place" or "holy place."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,706 Americans carry the last name Stowe. That puts it at #3,417 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 29,280 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stowe 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 Stowe with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
12K
1 in 29,280
Census rank
#3,417
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
10K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,208 bearers of the surname Stowe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3417th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stowe, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stowe
The surname Stowe originated in England during the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from various places in England called Stow or Stowe, which come from the Old English word 'stow', meaning a place or a religious dwelling. The name likely referred to someone who lived near or came from one of these places.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Stowe can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Stou' and 'Stowa'. This suggests that the name was already well-established in England by the late 11th century.
In the 13th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as 'de Stowe', 'atte Stowe', and 'Stowe'. These variations indicate that the name was originally a place name that later became a hereditary surname.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Stowe, an English historian and antiquarian who lived from 1525 to 1605. He is best known for his 'Survey of London', a chronicle of the history and topography of the city.
Another notable figure with the surname Stowe was Harriet Beecher Stowe, an American author and abolitionist who lived from 1811 to 1896. She is best known for her influential anti-slavery novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin', which played a significant role in fueling the abolitionist movement in the United States.
In the 16th century, the surname Stowe was also associated with the village of Stowe in Buckinghamshire, England. The Stowe family, whose surname derived from this place, owned the Stowe House and Gardens, a significant English country house and landscaped gardens.
Other notable individuals with the surname Stowe include David Stowe, an American educator and historian who lived from 1930 to 1997, and Lyman Beecher Stowe, an American lawyer and author who lived from 1880 to 1963.
Throughout its history, the surname Stowe has been recorded with various spellings, including Stow, Stowes, Stowey, and Stowye, reflecting regional variations and changes in spelling conventions over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stowe
Among Census respondents with the surname Stowe, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Stowe 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 Stowe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.2% · 8,289
- Black or African American9.9% · 1,015
- Two or more races4.1% · 418
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 376
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 68
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 42
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stowe
Stowe 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
#3,355
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,668
+760 bearers (+7.7%)
Per 100,000 3.62
Rank movement Down 41 places
2020
#3,417
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,208
-460 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 3.42
Rank movement Down 62 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,314 | 9,908 | 3.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,355 | 10,668 | 3.62 | +760 bearers (+7.7%) | Down 41 places |
| 2020 | #3,417 | 10,208 | 3.42 | -460 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 62 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 Stowe 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 | #3,355 | #3,417 | -1.8% |
| Count | 10,668 | 10,208 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 3.62 | 3.42 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stowe bearers went from 10,668 to 10,208 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 62 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,355 to #3,417.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Stowe
FAQ
Stowe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stowe?
Name Census estimates that about 11,706 living Americans carry the surname Stowe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 29,280 residents.
How common is Stowe?
Stowe ranks #3,417 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.42 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,208 people with the surname Stowe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,706), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.42 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Stowe.
Has Stowe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stowe went from 10,668 recorded bearers to 10,208. That is a decrease of 460 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,355 to #3,417.
What does the Census say about the background of Stowe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stowe, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Stowe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.2% (8,289 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stowe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.2%), Black (9.9%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Stowe (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 Stowe mean?
Place-name derived from Old English meaning "place" or "holy place." 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 Stowe (3.42 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 surname Stowe?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.