Gow Surname

42,652nd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 12,208 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Norfolk Island

Gow Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the smith' (Gaelic).

Gow Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2,7821:130,28713,730
Australia2,5391:10,6321,576
Scotland1,7981:2,978538
Canada1,5451:23,8483,245
England1,4361:38,8015,036
South Africa3501:154,79317,479
New Zealand3491:12,9752,262
Malaysia1961:150,4819,410
Indonesia1521:870,06065,341
Singapore1201:45,8981,743
Pakistan1031:1,734,40717,708
India1031:7,447,237161,200
Burkina Faso971:189,1974,254
Nigeria871:2,036,12471,256
Wales621:49,9124,670
Thailand541:1,308,118185,513
Northern Ireland541:34,1673,366
Iran441:1,745,05765,590
Philippines381:2,664,164134,326
France321:2,075,710171,237
Ireland301:156,9657,012
Jamaica281:102,4984,206
Trinidad and Tobago201:68,1995,276
Switzerland201:410,64630,429
China181:75,962,3094,162
Russia121:12,010,255361,204
United Arab Emirates111:832,93427,512
Brazil101:21,407,433350,627
Qatar91:262,00030,726
Jersey81:12,4002,398
Spain81:5,844,00486,878
Sweden71:1,406,680102,017
Isle of Man71:12,2602,387
Papua New Guinea71:1,164,817109,517
Kenya51:9,235,98055,978
Norfolk Island51:459108
Hong Kong41:1,833,8716,220
Oman41:921,9937,313
Egypt41:22,983,93862,368
Denmark31:1,881,57267,227
Nicaragua31:2,007,0306,490
Belgium31:3,832,215117,288
Taiwan31:7,814,91541,694
Panama31:1,304,08613,647
Cayman Islands31:21,2981,488
Mexico31:41,375,40271,397
Germany21:40,252,730481,636
Mauritania21:2,047,43230,537
Norway21:2,571,14395,402
Poland21:19,004,374199,659
Japan11:127,844,29373,547
French Polynesia11:280,8057,211
Israel11:8,557,634182,558
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Mongolia11:2,825,28917,010
Venezuela11:30,204,07785,459
Botswana11:2,186,92930,250
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Ivory Coast11:23,071,23276,679
Colombia11:47,774,07244,230
Jordan11:8,842,43726,010
Lebanon11:5,637,08332,436
Sri Lanka11:20,808,56018,521
Liberia11:4,408,53547,110
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Brunei11:418,7313,893
Monaco11:37,0664,748
Libya11:6,243,9746,186
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland401:110,7476,785
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland1,9891:1,882350
England3861:63,1497,319
Wales81:196,0527,186
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States6481:77,4988,234

Gow (890) may also be a first name.

Gow Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the smith' (Gaelic).

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

From Gaelic gobha, 'a smith,' or perhaps a shortening of Mac gobhann or Mac a' ghobhainn, 'son of the smith.' The smith was a man of importance in most of the clans, so that the name has no particular connection with any one clan. The Gows are usually included in Clan Chattan though there are many of the name in Perthshire, and eleven of the name appear in the Commissariot Record of Dunblane in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. George Gow and Henry Gow were burgesses of Dysart, 1580 (Dysart, p. 40), and Michael and Robert Gow in Culcoly were among the followers of Stewart of Kinnaird in a raid in 1595 (RPC.). The tradition that the Gows are descended from 'Hal o' the Wynd,' who took part in the clan battle on the Inch of Perth, 1396, is merely a piece of folklore.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(Celtic) the Smith Cp. Goff. [Irish and Gaelic Gobha (bh = w]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Gabha i.e. a smith Smith is actually used as a synonym of Gow in Co. Cavan and north Meath. IF 306*

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

(Scottish, Irish) The worker in metals, a smith; one who came from Govan, in Lanarkshire.

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

Gael. A smith.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

A blacksmith.

The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames (1862) by Clifford Stanley Sims (1839-1896)

(Gaelic.) A smith. The Gowan or smith of a Highland clan was held in high estimation. His skill in the manufacture of military weapons was usually united with great dexterity in using them, and with the strength of body which his profession required. The Gowan usually ranked as third officer in the chief's household.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

From the Dutch, Gouw; a personal name.

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

Gow Last Name Facts

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

The surname Gow (Hassaniya-Arabic: ﻛﻮ, Tibetan: གའུ་) is more frequently found in The United States than any other country/territory. It may also be found as a variant:. For other possible spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Gow? popularity and diffusion

The surname Gow is the 42,652nd most frequently occurring surname on a worldwide basis It is held by approximately 1 in 596,948 people. It is primarily found in The Americas, where 36 percent of Gow are found; 35 percent are found in North America and 35 percent are found in Anglo-North America. It is also the 272,424th most frequent first name worldwide. It is borne by 890 people.

It is most commonly used in The United States, where it is carried by 2,782 people, or 1 in 130,287. In The United States it is most numerous in: California, where 16 percent live, Michigan, where 7 percent live and Texas, where 7 percent live. Beside The United States this surname occurs in 70 countries. It also occurs in Australia, where 21 percent live and Scotland, where 15 percent live.

Gow Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Gow has changed over time. In The United States the number of people bearing the Gow surname increased 429 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it decreased 10 percent between 1881 and 2014; in England it increased 372 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it increased 775 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it decreased 25 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Gow Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those holding the last name is primarily Presbyterian (90%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Gow last name are 9.55% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 56.32% registered with the political party.

The amount Gow earn in different countries varies markedly. In South Africa they earn 46.53% more than the national average, earning R 348,216 per year; in United States they earn 17.31% more than the national average, earning $50,616 USD per year and in Canada they earn 6.35% more than the national average, earning $52,837 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Gowa864,488/
Gowe862,469/
Gouw862,224/
Ghow86383/
Goow868/
Gowś864/
Goew864/
Gowf863/
Gowt861/
Gojw861/
Qgow861/
Govw861/
Gowh861/
Gowp861/
Gouwe751,203/
Kgowa75740/
Kgowe75410/
Gohwe75125/
Ghowe759/
Gowsz756/
Ghowa754/
Goiwe753/
Ggowa752/
Goshw751/
Goowe751/
Goiws751/
Gaw675,623/
Gob671,060/
Gof67321/
Gov6770/
Guw6712/
Ghoswh673/
Kgouwe672/
Ghowch672/
Ghouws671/
Ggouws671/
Gouswh671/

Gow Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Gow in the Tibetan language
གའུ་ga'u66.67
གོའུ་go'u33.33
Gow in the Hassaniya-Arabic language
ﻛﻮkw50
ﺍﻛﻮakw50

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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 Gow
  • 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