Oswell Surname

238,470th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 1,681 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Canada
Highest density in:
Canada

Oswell Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Oswald,' corruptly Oswell or Oswill. A very early personal name; compare Oswald Kirk, a parish in Yorkshire. 'Osewold the Reve': Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales.

Simon Aswald, Oxfordshire, 1273.

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Oswell Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Canada4431:83,1739,255
England4411:126,34512,635
United States4391:825,64763,294
Thailand1831:386,00267,749
Australia631:428,50333,982
South Africa251:2,167,10894,352
Nigeria211:8,435,369179,591
Jamaica141:204,9965,998
Scotland141:382,41616,471
Wales131:238,04114,239
New Zealand111:411,66631,040
Zimbabwe11:15,438,240133,260
Tanzania11:52,941,613123,716
Oman11:3,687,97114,390
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Solomon Islands11:580,02922,243
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
Namibia11:2,409,40119,676
Mozambique11:27,261,5697,432
Ghana11:27,020,69223,742
France11:66,422,722504,397
China11:1,367,321,56651,149
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Northern Ireland11:1,845,03620,648
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland41:1,107,46726,093
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England2441:99,89910,088
Wales71:224,0598,079
Scotland31:1,247,73924,719
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1921:261,55621,457

Oswell (4,748) may also be a first name.

Oswell Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Oswald,' corruptly Oswell or Oswill. A very early personal name; compare Oswald Kirk, a parish in Yorkshire. 'Osewold the Reve': Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales.

Simon Aswald, Oxfordshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

John Oswald, Gloucestershire, 1325. Writs of Parliament.

Oswelt Faireweather, 1540: Reg. St. Antholin (London).

Oswall Mosley, 1620: Reg. St. Mary Aldermary (London).

Oswell Stephens, 1744: Reg. Canterbury Cath.

All Manchester people are familiar with the name of Sir Oswald Mosley.

1570. Married — William Osewell and Marye Mills: St. Michael, Cornhill.

1632. Baptised — John, s. John Oswell: St. James, Clerkenwell.

I need not furnish modern instances of Oswald.

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

From the Old English personal name Oswald, meaning 'divine power.' The Oswalds of Caithness are descended from James Oswald of Kirkwall, d.c. 1660, and a family of this name has been for more than two centuries resident in Fife, Archibald Oswall, minister of the word of God apud Pankaitland, 1649 (Inquis., 3581). Alexander Oswell of Falkirk, burgess of Glasgow, 1622 (Burgesses). James Oswald was notary in Coldstream, 1665 (Lauder), and David Oswald of Dalders was retoured heir in lands and barony of Skirling, 1683 (Retours, Lanark, 359).

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

For Oswald, q.v.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

An English name assumed by a branch of the Ó hEodhusa (Hussey) family. MIF 184*

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

An Anglo-Saxon personal name.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

A steward.

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

(Saxon.) From hus, a house, and wald, a ruler—a house—ruler or steward; a king of Northumberland.

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

Oswell Last Name Facts

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

The last name Oswell occurs more in Canada more than any other country or territory. It may also occur in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Oswell? popularity and diffusion

The surname Oswell is the 238,470th most widely held last name in the world, held by approximately 1 in 4,335,244 people. It occurs mostly in The Americas, where 53 percent of Oswell are found; 52 percent are found in North America and 52 percent are found in Anglo-North America. Oswell is also the 99,328th most frequently used given name world-wide, borne by 4,748 people.

The surname is most widely held in Canada, where it is held by 443 people, or 1 in 83,173. In Canada it is most prevalent in: Saskatchewan, where 86 percent reside, British Columbia, where 7 percent reside and Alberta, where 3 percent reside. Apart from Canada it occurs in 24 countries. It also occurs in England, where 26 percent reside and The United States, where 26 percent reside.

Oswell Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Oswell has changed over time. In England the number of people bearing the Oswell surname increased 181 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it increased 229 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it increased 467 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it increased 186 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it contracted 75 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Oswell Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the Oswell surname is principally Catholic (50%) in Ireland.

In The United States Oswell are 0.69% more likely to be registered Democrats than The US average, with 52.54% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Oswell earn in different countries varies notably. In South Africa they earn 10.85% less than the national average, earning R 211,860 per year; in United States they earn 9.46% more than the national average, earning $47,230 USD per year and in Canada they earn 3.88% less than the national average, earning $47,756 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Hoswell92229/
Oswelld920/
Oshwell920/
Oswel9110/
Houswell860/
Gosswell860/
Aswell83401/
Oxwell8397/
Oswill8348/
Osbell833/
Oswele832/
Uswell831/
Eswell831/
Oswl801/
Hootswell800/
Haswell775,796/
Ashwell773,316/
Heswell779/
Ushwell773/
Oisewel772/
Ochwell771/
Euswell771/
Hoxwell771/
Auswell771/
Huswell770/
Aswel7311/
Aswll736/
Osuel734/
Osbel732/
Oxwel731/
Oswil731/
Oswlt730/
Hasswell715/
Hauswell713/
Hesswell710/
Hashwell710/
Asbell672,590/
Haswel67316/
Ousbel6723/
Axwell6716/
Otsuel6715/
Hausxwell6715/
Ashwel6710/
Goswil674/
Hosuel672/
Aswele672/
Asweld672/
Hauxswell671/
Osbill671/
Aswael671/
Eswehl671/
Haswll671/
Oshuel671/
Asweel671/
Aswill670/

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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 Oswell
  • 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