Coward Surname

31,812th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 16,767 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Barbados

Coward Surname Definition:

From the Old English 'cu' (cow) and 'hierd' (herd.) Although this may sound a fairly lowly occupation, on a par with labourers, early records hint that the role was considered above other roles such as swineherd or shepherd. One welsh cowherd appears on a list of traders.

Read More About This Surname

Coward Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States7,8731:46,0385,610
England4,7771:11,6641,719
Australia1,2721:21,2232,948
Canada1,1061:33,3144,301
Jamaica3421:8,392960
Barbados1951:1,474313
South Africa1661:326,37230,631
New Zealand1451:31,2305,420
Wales1031:30,0443,055
Norway1001:51,4237,375
Trinidad and Tobago911:14,9891,905
France851:781,44495,071
Scotland771:69,5305,379
Panama741:52,8682,534
Northern Ireland601:30,7513,176
Dominican Republic461:226,8038,136
Isle of Man321:2,682546
Costa Rica221:217,2762,674
Guyana181:42,3464,061
Ireland161:294,30910,207
Germany141:5,750,390205,224
Singapore131:423,66918,211
Brazil111:19,461,303329,560
Thailand111:6,421,668407,040
Mexico91:13,791,80145,470
Spain91:5,194,67182,436
Netherlands81:2,110,89788,902
Northern Mariana Islands81:6,822652
Jersey81:12,4002,398
Liberia71:629,79127,063
Argentina61:7,123,902190,047
United Arab Emirates41:2,290,56860,372
Vietnam41:23,161,5143,610
Switzerland31:2,737,638105,941
Philippines31:33,746,074302,898
Monaco31:12,3552,088
Malaysia31:9,831,408269,765
Hong Kong31:2,445,1619,595
Cyprus21:442,4389,493
Greece21:5,539,895129,142
Brunei21:209,3663,098
Uganda21:19,519,640189,114
Denmark21:2,822,35876,882
Sweden21:4,923,378241,212
Japan21:63,922,14662,827
Cambodia21:7,743,57311,959
Cayman Islands21:31,9461,715
Iraq11:35,021,65431,813
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
Ghana11:27,020,69223,742
Mauritius11:1,293,41716,552
Guam11:160,1214,893
Chile11:17,616,47493,597
Bermuda11:65,2793,010
India11:767,065,3821,851,717
Indonesia11:132,249,194811,426
Uruguay11:3,431,75838,295
United States Virgin Islands11:110,3756,934
Faroe Islands11:48,9982,049
Senegal11:14,579,34211,705
Poland11:38,008,749231,653
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Bulgaria11:6,978,90586,260
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Romania11:20,077,87089,414
Saint Lucia11:178,7813,800
Slovakia11:5,336,450140,422
Kazakhstan11:17,682,496204,010
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland31:1,476,62229,385
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England3,3551:7,2651,134
Wales631:24,8951,432
Jersey91:5,7651,004
Scotland41:935,80421,348
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,5941:31,5053,798

Coward (66) may also be a first name.

Coward Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

From the Old English 'cu' (cow) and 'hierd' (herd.) Although this may sound a fairly lowly occupation, on a par with labourers, early records hint that the role was considered above other roles such as swineherd or shepherd. One welsh cowherd appears on a list of traders.

— Forebears.io

This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the cow-herd,' a great North-English surname. In the Furness district of Lancashire it contends with the Tysons, Atkinsons, and Ashburners for the front place, v. Herd.

1618. Buried — Archie, the cowhird of Goswick: Reg. Holy Island. Raine's History and Antiquities of North Durham.

William le Kukerde, Cambridgeshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

John Kuhirde, Huntingdonshire, ibid.

John le Kuhyrde, Cumberland, 20 Edward I: Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III.

Richard le Kuhyrde, Cumberland, ibid.

Cecilia Cowehird, laborer, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Robertus Cowehyrde, 1379: ibid.

Henry le Couhirde, Rot. Fines, 3 Edward II.

John Coward, or Cowhird, of Ulverston, 1622: Lancashire Wills at Richmond.

Rowland Cowherd, or Cowhert, or Coward of Kirkby Ireleth, 1637: ibid.

Hellen Cowart, of Out Rawcliffe, 1663: ibid.

Cowherd, the original form, still exists (v. Cowherd). This surname is well represented across the Atlantic. 'Samuel Coward owned land in Barbadoes in 1679' (v. Hotten's Lists of Emigrants).

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English) Cowherd [Old English cú + hierde]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) One who tended cows.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

Although the popular derivation of this opprobrious word from "cow-herd" (whose occupation would be regarded with some disdain by the chivalrous in the middle ages) is untenable, I think it quite probable that the surname may be from that source, like Shepherd, Hayward, and other similar names.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

From La Couarde, near Rochelle. Radulphus de Coarda occurs in Normandy 1198 (Mag. Rot. Scac.); Roger de Cowert in England c. 1272 (Rot. Hundr.).

The Norman People (1874)

From the Flemish, Couard; from the French, Chouard; a Huguenot name.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

User-submitted Reference

English: occupational name for a keeper of cattle, Middle English cowherde, Old English cūhyrde, from 'cow' + hierde 'herdsman'. (The surname has nothing to do with the modern English word coward, which is from Old French cuard, a pejorative term from coue 'tail' (Latincauda) with reference to an animal with its tail between its legs.)

- daniel.rickman

Coward Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Coward Come From? nationality or country of origin

Coward (Arabic: كوارد) has its highest incidence in The United States. It can be rendered as a variant:. Click here for further potential spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Coward? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 31,812th most prevalent surname on a global scale. It is borne by around 1 in 434,636 people. This last name occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 56 percent of Coward reside; 51 percent reside in North America and 51 percent reside in Anglo-North America. Coward is also the 1,201,840th most frequently occurring first name internationally It is held by 66 people.

The last name Coward is most frequently occurring in The United States, where it is carried by 7,873 people, or 1 in 46,038. In The United States Coward is most numerous in: Texas, where 14 percent reside, North Carolina, where 13 percent reside and South Carolina, where 7 percent reside. Aside from The United States Coward occurs in 68 countries. It is also common in England, where 28 percent reside and Australia, where 8 percent reside.

Coward Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Coward has changed over time. In The United States the share of the population with the surname rose 494 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it rose 142 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it rose 163 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it rose 1,925 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it rose 533 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Coward Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those holding the Coward surname is principally Anglican (67%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Coward surname are 8.23% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 55% registered to vote for the party.

The amount Coward earn in different countries varies markedly. In Norway they earn 34.48% more than the national average, earning 465,425 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 35.54% more than the national average, earning R 322,092 per year; in United States they earn 4.62% less than the national average, earning $41,154 USD per year and in Canada they earn 0.19% less than the national average, earning $49,587 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Cowhard9229/
Choward921/
Coeward920/
Cowheard8635/
Chowhard861/
Cowart8316,889/
Caward83216/
Covard8343/
Zoward8317/
Koward839/
Cobard837/
Cowerd836/
Coword830/
Cowherd771,840/
Coubard771,524/
Chobard775/
Cowarts773/
Chovard773/
Couvard772/
Cowartt772/
Chowart772/
Kouward771/
Cowasrt771/
Cowhart771/
Cowwart771/
Cauward770/
Choubard71180/
Coswarth710/
Cavard67958/
Covart6788/
Keward6782/
Kaward6764/
Cobart6737/
Zaward6729/
Cabard6724/
Cowert6717/
Cawerd675/
Cawart675/
Kowart675/
Kovard675/
Kuward672/
Cabord672/
Cowort671/
Coverd671/
Caword670/

Coward Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Coward in the Arabic language
كواردkward-

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Coward Reference & Research

Cowart DNA Website - A web page dedicated to the genetic research of those who bear the surname and its variants.

Cowart FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Coward
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis