Rowe
A surname with several old English and Scottish roots, most often meaning someone who lived by a row of houses or in a row-shaped place, and sometimes linked to Rowland.
The #478 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,418 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Rowe is mainly an English topographic surname. In one common sense it comes from Middle English rowe, meaning a row of houses or a hedge-row, from Old English roots for a row or line. In another sense it could mark someone from a place called Row or Rowe, and some Scottish explanations connect it with Gaelic rhu, a low, narrow peninsula. There is also a separate patronymic use in which Rowe is treated as a short form or nickname from Rowland.
History
Medieval records show forms such as del Rowe, pointing to early topographic use in England. The name also became established in northern England and the Scottish border, where it could be used as a familiar personal name or as a shortened form of Rowland. Place-name forms such as Row and Rowell helped spread the surname in England and Scotland.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A historical source notes that Rowell may mean someone living by a spring or well frequented by roes, showing how the surname could arise from very different local features.
From the historical record
“cester, Hereford, etc. ROWE, V. Row. ROWELL "1 (Eng.) Dweller at the Roe-Spring, ROWLL J i.e. a spring or well frequented by roes [O.E. rd, a roe + w(i)ella, a spring] The Glouc. Rowell is also called Roel. (A.-Fr.-Teut.) I the French Rouel (v. under Row(e — A.-Fr.-Teut.'), a double”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)