Crowe
Usually a nickname surname for someone thought to resemble a crow, though in some places it may also reflect a local-place name or a Celtic word for a cross.
The #1,172 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 10,308 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In English usage, Crowe is commonly treated as a nickname from the bird name crow, applied to someone with dark coloring, a rough voice, or some fancied likeness to the bird. Historical surname writers also connect Crow/Crowe with older spellings such as Craw, and note related forms built from the same bird image. In Cornwall, however, some Crow forms were explained differently, from a Cornish word for a cross, and in Irish records Crowe can represent anglicized forms such as MacEncroe and related surnames.
History
The name is found early in England, especially in northern and eastern records, and later appears in London parish and marriage registers. It has several independent origins, so not every modern Crowe family shares the same root. In Ireland and Cornwall, some Crowe lines may be unrelated to the English nickname surname and instead come from local Gaelic or Cornish forms. The spelling Crowe became established alongside Crow.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some old surname books even link Crow and Crowe with the same playful tradition that produced bird-based names like Raven, Rook, Nightingale, and Sparrow.
From the historical record
“i.*6:lbid.v,J.iLp.ii. p, iji. 1614-4. Edward Crowe and Etii. (London), " (U,S.X IJ”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances