Poe
Likely a nickname surname from a word for “peacock,” though some 19th-century sources also link it to a turkey.
The #1,522 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,103 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally explained as a nickname from a word for a peacock, especially Middle English forms like poe, ultimately from Old English and Latin pauo, “peacock.” In that tradition, Poe belongs with surnames such as Peacock, Pocock, Pay, and Pea, all clustered around the same bird-name. Some older writers also note a later northern English use of poe for “turkey,” which may reflect a transfer of the nickname from one bird to another.
History
The name appears in medieval English records and was treated by 19th-century surname writers as a bird-based nickname. It was probably first applied to someone fancied as showy, proud, or brightly dressed, as peacock surnames often were. Later notes about northern English usage suggest the word’s meaning could shift regionally, but the peacock explanation remains the standard one.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname handbooks explicitly group Poe with a small family of peacock surnames, showing how one bird generated several different family names.
From the historical record
“a toad) + ?nor(e, O.E. mdr] POE (A.-Lat.) a nickname and siga-name from the Peacock [M.E. po(e, O.E. pdwa, Lat. pauo] Cp. Pocock. Pogg 85”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)