Lowe
A surname from several sources, most often meaning “lion” from German or “the hill” from Old English.
The #334 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 3,346 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lowe can have more than one origin. In German, it is linked to the word for “lion” (modern German Löwe), a nickname or symbolic name. In English records, it can also be a topographic surname from Old English and Middle English lowe, meaning “hill” or “mound.”
History
The name appears in medieval English place-based forms and in later English surname lists, where it is treated as a local or topographic element. It also became common among German-speaking families, where it could refer to the animal lion or function as a surname adopted for that image. In modern English-speaking countries, Lowe is widespread and may reflect either ancestry.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because “lowe” could mean either “lion” in German or “hill” in English, the same spelling can point to different family histories.
From the historical record
“LOEWE 1 (Ger.) Lion [Ger. lowe, M.H.Ger. LOWE J lewe, louwe, O.H.Ger. lewo, louwo (= Put. le'euw), lion ; borrowed forms which have more in common with Heb. Ivi than Lat. Ie6\ LOHER j(Ger.) Tanner, [Ger. loher; f. loh, LOjHR J O.H.Ger. Id, tanning-bark + the agent, suff. -er}”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)