Low Family History

English and Scottish: topographic name for someone who lived near a tumulus mound or hill Middle English lowe from Old English hlāw (see Law). Scottish and English: nickname for a short man from Middle English lah lowe (Old Norse lágr; the word was adopted first into the northern dialects of Middle English where Scandinavian influence was strong and then spread south with regular alteration of the vowel quality).

English and Scottish (of Norman origin): nickname for a violent or dangerous person from Anglo-Norman French lou leu ‘wolf’ (from Latin lupus). Wolves were relatively common in Britain at the time when most surnames were formed as there still existed large tracts of uncleared forest.

Scottish: from a pet form of Lawrence. Compare Lowry German (Löw): variant of Löwe ‘lion’ (see Lowe).

The surname Löw is also found in Czechia and Sweden. Compare Loew. Americanized form of Jewish Lowe.

Chinese: variant of Lou or Lau. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 黎 see Li Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 羅 see Luo.