Nowell Surname

43,473rd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 11,962 people bear this surname

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

Nowell Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Noel,' which see. The modern Nowillis a natural variant of Nowell.

'General pardon to Nowell Harper, late of Boyleston, Derbyshire, gent,' 1486, July 16: Materials for a History of Henry VII.

Read More About This Surname

Nowell Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States7,8451:46,2035,624
England1,8311:30,4304,077
Australia7971:33,8724,466
Canada5061:72,8178,270
Guatemala2441:65,9132,494
Wales1381:22,4242,380
New Zealand1341:33,7935,839
South Africa851:637,38547,411
Barbados741:3,884514
Argentina511:838,10654,910
Scotland481:111,5387,348
Spain321:1,461,00145,498
Germany221:3,659,339158,771
Guam211:7,6251,143
Ireland181:261,6089,673
Nigeria121:14,761,896248,185
Panama111:355,6607,645
Trinidad and Tobago91:151,5538,353
Jersey81:12,4002,398
Mexico71:17,732,31550,495
United Arab Emirates61:1,527,04651,993
Sweden61:1,641,126116,183
Philippines61:16,873,037249,062
Malaysia51:5,898,845196,803
Brazil51:42,814,866547,158
Hong Kong51:1,467,0975,611
Norfolk Island51:459108
Malta41:107,5681,849
France31:22,140,907385,998
Italy21:30,578,344160,757
Russia21:72,061,528727,117
Uganda21:19,519,640189,114
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
Tajikistan11:8,386,69212,859
Thailand11:70,638,3451,175,915
Zimbabwe11:15,438,240133,260
Switzerland11:8,212,915156,297
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Singapore11:5,507,70347,049
Monaco11:37,0664,748
Micronesia11:106,2431,380
Liberia11:4,408,53547,110
Japan11:127,844,29373,547
Falkland Islands11:3,132317
Egypt11:91,935,754132,737
Dominican Republic11:10,432,93236,508
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
Cameroon11:20,769,068227,406
Bermuda11:65,2793,010
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland41:1,107,46726,093
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1,4081:17,3122,515
Wales151:104,5614,503
Jersey21:25,9413,069
Scotland11:3,743,21632,299
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,1651:43,1065,015

Nowell (2,091) may also be a first name.

Nowell Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Noel,' which see. The modern Nowillis a natural variant of Nowell.

'General pardon to Nowell Harper, late of Boyleston, Derbyshire, gent,' 1486, July 16: Materials for a History of Henry VII.

1580. Baptised — James, son of Nowell Mathew: Reg. St. Columb Major.

1578. John Nowell, Sussex, gent.: Register of the University of Oxford.

1622. Baptised — Adam, s. Marmaduke Nowell: St. James, Clerkenwell.

Petition of Nowell Warner, 1627-8: Cal. State Papers (Domestic).

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

Anglicized forms of Noel, q.v.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

“Christmas” (Noel) in Old English. Name given to person born at that season.

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

(French, English) Descendant of Noel, a name given to a child born on Christmas Day.

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

1. Probably the same as Noel. 2. The Nowels of Bede, now Netherside, co. York, deduce their pedigree from Adam de Nowell, who flourished there temp. Henry I. B.L.G. The presumption of a descent from the noble family of De Noailles in France, seems to have no other foundation than the similarity of sound.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Cornish forms of Noel.

Patronymica Cornu-Britannica (1870) by Richard Stephen Charnock

Nowell Last Name Facts

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

The last name Nowell has its highest incidence in The United States. It can appear in the variant forms:. Click here to see other potential spellings of this surname.

How Common Is The Last Name Nowell? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 43,473rd most common last name globally, borne by around 1 in 609,225 people. This surname occurs mostly in The Americas, where 73 percent of Nowell reside; 70 percent reside in North America and 69 percent reside in Anglo-North America. Nowell is also the 164,606th most widespread given name throughout the world, held by 2,091 people.

This surname is most widely held in The United States, where it is carried by 7,845 people, or 1 in 46,203. In The United States it is most prevalent in: Texas, where 13 percent live, North Carolina, where 9 percent live and Mississippi, where 9 percent live. Aside from The United States this surname is found in 49 countries. It also occurs in England, where 15 percent live and Australia, where 7 percent live.

Nowell Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Nowell has changed over time. In The United States the number of people who held the Nowell surname expanded 673 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it expanded 130 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it expanded 920 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it expanded 4,800 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it expanded 450 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Nowell Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those bearing the Nowell surname is chiefly Catholic (75%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Nowell surname are 13.63% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 60.4% being registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Nowell earn in different countries varies somewhat. In South Africa they earn 6.72% more than the national average, earning R 253,608 per year; in United States they earn 2.84% less than the national average, earning $41,922 USD per year and in Canada they earn 1.64% less than the national average, earning $48,866 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Noweell921/
Nowelle921/
Noewell921/
Nouwell921/
Noell913,052/
Nowel91436/
Novell832,043/
Nowele83235/
Nowill83206/
Nobell8371/
Nawell8323/
Nouwel836/
Nuwell835/
Noweil832/
Ngowel832/
Noewll831/
Nowhel831/
Nouell831/
Noweel831/
Noweal831/
Nowelh831/
Nnoell830/
Noel80240,252/
Nowl801/
Noyelle772,060/
Novelle77883/
Nawelle77317/
Nouelle7751/
Nouvell7710/
Noswill775/
Nohbell773/
Noevell772/
Naawell771/
Noubell771/
Ngouwel771/
Nousell770/
Noovell770/
Noisell770/
Neweall770/
Nowille770/
Novelll770/
Neill7332,863/
Nobel7314,399/
Novel738,380/
Nouel732,163/
Neall73911/
Niell73873/
Noyel73322/
Nuell73227/
Nawel73127/
Noiel7375/
Ngoel7373/
Nowle7343/
Nuwel7342/
Nojel7319/
Nowil7313/
Neell738/
Neull732/
Nyell732/
Naell732/
Noull732/
Noill731/
Nàwel731/
Nawll730/
Nouvelle71231/
Novicell711/
Noivelle710/
Novele6716,163/
Nevill673,934/
Nouvel673,711/
Nevell67498/
Nawele67494/
Noubel67322/
Naouel67198/
Neille67132/
Noutel67122/
Nógell67116/
Nehall6758/
Naweel6758/
Nowile6752/
Noobel6742/
Novesl6737/
Noviel6737/
Nabell6734/
Noveld6730/
Noisel6727/
Nowail6721/
Novellová6720/
Navell6718/
Ngawel6711/
Noitel6711/
Novill678/
Ngouel677/
Noille676/
Noveel676/
Nawael676/
Neyoll676/
Gnovel675/
Nawhel675/
Nouele675/
Nubell673/
Noulle673/
Novelt672/
Noggel672/
Nobill672/
Noewil672/
Nübell672/
Nouvealle672/
Noveal672/
Nawiel672/
Nobeel672/
Noevil671/
Nealle671/
Neuell671/
Novelh671/
Nousel671/
Nujell671/
Noiill671/
Noovel671/
Gneill671/
Noyall671/
Neulle671/
D'Noel671/
Nyiell671/
Nawwel671/
Neyell671/
Naweal671/
Nohiel671/
Nawgel670/
Neweil670/
Nayell670/
Nobeal670/
Nosuel670/
Nohgel670/

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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 Nowell
  • 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