The Cowles surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,215 people carried this name — #5,598 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 47,400 people counted. That is up 1% from 6,165 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Cowles surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

From Cole + -s (“patronymic suffix”).

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

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Nicholas’ — the first of the origins he gives.

His entry covers Coull, Cowell, Cowle and Cowles.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 208 · public domain.

In print

Cowles in American newspapers,
1910–1920.

Newspaper page from Oxford Eagle carrying the name Cowles
Oxford Eagle 1919-12-18
Newspaper page from Bogalusa Enterprise And American carrying the name Cowles
Bogalusa Enterprise And American 1920-01-01
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Cowles
Daily Kennebec Journal 1910-02-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 227,089 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Cowles in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1970s.

2,672 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cowles. The most, 633, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,462
Victoria 415
Queensland 294
Tasmania 239
South Australia 121
Western Australia 111
ACT (Canberra) 22

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

Who carried it

People named Cowles,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Austin Cowles
    Austin Cowles 1792–1872
  • Betsey Mix Cowles
    Betsey Mix Cowles 1810–1876 · educator
  • Eunice Caldwell Cowles
    Eunice Caldwell Cowles 1811–1903 · head teacher
  • Giles H. Cowles 1766–1835 · Christian minister
  • Samuel Cowles 1775–1837 · lawyer
  • Edwin Weed Cowles 1794–1861

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Cowles,
in the records of 6 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 States708 records

708 records of the Cowles name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 208
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 171
  • Other U.S. records 329
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Jessie R. Cowles

    Born 1925 in Kentucky. Enlisted 1943 at Evansville, Indiana; farm hand. U.S. Army veteran of World War II and the Korean War; died 1999, buried at Bowling Green Gardens, Kentucky.

    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 Roy A. Cowles

    Born 1932; from Alameda County, California. U.S. Army, light weapons infantry leader; killed in action 1953 in North Korea.

    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 Belle W. Cowles

    Arrived at New York in 1890 aboard the Britannic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 26; teacher.

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

Showing 3 of 708 records for Cowles in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · 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).

Australia222 records

222 records of the Cowles name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 99
  • Tasmanian Names Index 83
  • Other Australian records 40
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Thomas Cowles

    Married 1864 in Franklin, Tasmania, aged 28. Died 1888 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 52.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Eric Archer Cowles

    Born 1904 in Hill St, Hobart, Tasmania. Died 1936 in Tasmania, aged 32.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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 Annie Cowles

    Arrived in Victoria in 1884 aboard the John Elder, aged 30.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 222 records for Cowles in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

New Zealand13 records

13 records of the Cowles name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 7
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 4
  • Waimakariri District cemetery records, Canterbury 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Phillipa Grace Cowles

    Buried in 1956 at Tararu Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 62.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record George William Cowles

    Died 1942, aged 35; buried at Sydenham 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 Marie Louise Cowles

    Died 1996; buried at Rangiora Lawn Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Cowles in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District 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).

Canada10 records

10 records of the Cowles name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • Other Canadian records 4
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Arthur Cowles

    Buried in 1975 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 79.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record John Arthur Cowles

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Harold Cowles

    Married 1914 in Amherst, Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 10 records for Cowles in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · 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); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom10 records

10 records of the Cowles name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record F. H. Cowles

    Suffolk Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (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 W. F. Cowles

    Essex Regiment. 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 H. C. G. Cowles

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

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

Showing 3 of 10 records for Cowles in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (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).

France1 record

1 record of the Cowles name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Beatrice Cowles

    Born 1905 in the United States; died 1993 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Cowles.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Cowles 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.

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