Cowles
Usually a surname spelling that developed from Coles/Colles through dialect pronunciation, though one old source also linked it to a monk’s hood.
The #5,598 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 49,677 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical clue here is that Cowles is treated by Bardsley as a provincial or dialect spelling of Coles (and related Colles), rather than as an independent word. That points to the name ultimately coming from the personal name or surname Cole, itself commonly understood as a short form of Nicholas or as a nickname from the word coal/dark-complexioned in some traditions. An older etymological dictionary also glosses Cowles as “a monk’s hood or habit,” but that looks more like a word-meaning note than a secure surname derivation.
History
English records show many spelling shifts caused by local speech, and Cowles appears among those variant forms alongside Coles, Coules, and Cowls. The name is found in Britain and later in North America, where it survived as a settled surname spelling. In historical scholarship it is usually grouped with Coles-type names rather than treated as a separate origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley explicitly grouped Cowles with other pronunciation-based spellings such as Cowlings for Collins and Houll for Holt, showing how flexible surname spelling could be in older English records.
From the historical record
“106 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY COWLES. A monk's hood or habit. CEADOCK. A corruption of the old British name Caradoc, which is said to signify " dearly beloved." CRAIG-. (Cor. Br. and Welsh.) A rock, a crag, a stone; Gaelic, carraig, a rock, creag, a rock. CRAM. (German.) From Jcram, a retail shop. CRAMER. (German.)…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names