The Cowden surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,111 people carried this name — #8,055 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 71,900 people counted. That is up 4% from 3,960 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Cowden surname

English and Scottish surname, from several places in both Scotland and England named Cowden, from cow + dene (“valley”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Cowden» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

20 families named Cowden, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 121 people lived in those households, 6.1 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

New York 7
Pennsylvania 6
Massachusetts 5
North Carolina 1
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 235 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Cowden in American newspapers,
1882–1922.

Newspaper page from Great Falls Tribune carrying the name Cowden
Great Falls Tribune 1922-05-21
Newspaper page from The Patron Of Husbandry carrying the name Cowden
The Patron Of Husbandry 1882-08-05
Newspaper page from The Meridional carrying the name Cowden
The Meridional 1899-07-01

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 27,837 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Cowden in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

3,000 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cowden. The most, 550, date from the 1940s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Western Australia, at 5.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Western Australia 1,306
New South Wales 792
Victoria 333
Queensland 232
ACT (Canberra) 173
South Australia 127
Tasmania 30
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cowden.

Who carried it

People named Cowden,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James Cowden 1869– · politician
  • Thomas K. Cowden 1908–1983 · economist
  • Bill Cowden 1920–2007 · basketball player

Wikidata (CC0) · 4 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Cowden,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States341 records

341 records of the Cowden name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 148
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 71
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 48
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 32
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 17
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 15
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Robert M. Cowden

    Born 1918 in Texas. Enlisted 1941 at Fort Bliss El Paso; payroll clerk from El Paso County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1992, buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Leslie Lawrence Cowden

    Born 1946; from Cedar, Minnesota. U.S. Army, medical specialist; killed in action 1968 in Hua Nghia, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Elizabeth Cowden

    Arrived at New York in 1867 aboard the Caledonia from Glasgow, aged 18; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 341 records for Cowden in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia100 records

100 records of the Cowden name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 54
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 26
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 9
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 7
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Cowden

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Minerva, arriving 1821; ticket of leave 1826. Native of London.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record James Austin Cowden

    Gentleman of Box Hill, Victoria; died 1969.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Cowden

    Arrived in Victoria in 1874 aboard the Ben Nevis, aged 40.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 100 records for Cowden in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

New Zealand6 records

6 records of the Cowden name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ada McLellan Cowden

    Died 1997, aged 75; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Cowden

    Died 1939, aged 64; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Maxwell Cowden

    Died 1969, aged 54; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Cowden in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Cowden name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 1
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Alexander Cowden

    Killed or died by 1919. Named in the roll of honour of Singer memorial, 1914-1918.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. R. Cowden

    Cameron Highlanders. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record F. S. Cowden

    Machine Gun Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Cowden name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Frederick Nicholas Cowden

    Died 1949; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Mary Baxter Cowden

    Born 1907 in Chignecto, Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Cowden.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Cowden is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Cowden volume
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