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Rowley Family History

Rowley Surname Meaning

English: habitational name from one or more of various places called Rowley or Rowly such as Rowley Regis (Staffordshire), Rowley (Devon, Durham), Rowleygreen Farm (Hertfordshire), Rowly (Surrey), Rowley (East Yorkshire), Rowley near Bardsey (Yorkshire), Rowley in Lepton (Yorkshire), and Rowley Hill (Essex).

The placenames probably all derive from Old English rūh ‘rough’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’, though the East Yorkshire place may have been named with hlāw ‘mound, hill’ as the second element.

Irish: from Ó Roghallaigh, a variant of Ó Raghailligh. See Riley and O'Reilly.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Rowley family from?

You can see how Rowley families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Rowley family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Rowley families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1891 there were 2,194 Rowley families living in Staffordshire. This was about 26% of all the recorded Rowley's in United Kingdom. Staffordshire had the highest population of Rowley families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Rowley surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Rowley ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Rowley. 8% of Rowley men worked as a General Labourer and 66% of Rowley women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Rowley were Incapacitated and Incapacitated.

View Census Data for Rowley | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1939

  • General Labourer
    8%
  • Colliery Hewer
    4%
  • Builders Labourer
    3%
  • Incapacitated
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    66%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    3%
  • Unpaid Domestic Dut
    3%
  • Incapacitated
    2%

What Rowley family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 243,000 census records available for the last name Rowley. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Rowley census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Rowley

Passenger Lists

There are 19,000 immigration records available for the last name Rowley. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Rowley immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 26,000 military records available for the last name Rowley. For the veterans among your Rowley ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Rowley military records

You've only scratched the surface of Rowley family history

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What is the average Rowley lifespan?

Between 1943 and 2004, in the United States, Rowley life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1944, and highest in 2003. The average life expectancy for Rowley in 1943 was 67, and 76 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Rowley

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Rowley ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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