The Dowden surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,829 people carried this name — #8,598 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 76,900 people counted. That is up 6% from 3,606 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Dowden surname

Patronymic surname, from an unattested Old English personal name *Dogod, perhaps derived from dugan (“to avail, serve”).

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

In print

Dowden in American newspapers,
1896–1923.

Newspaper page from The Democrat carrying the name Dowden
The Democrat 1896-04-02
Newspaper page from The Buffalo Bulletin carrying the name Dowden
The Buffalo Bulletin 1922-12-21
Newspaper page from Vilas County News carrying the name Dowden
Vilas County News 1923-01-10

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 15,168 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Dowden in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

5,617 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dowden. The most, 1,009, date from the 1930s. Queensland has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 2.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 2,191
Western Australia 1,047
New South Wales 986
Victoria 785
South Australia 403
Tasmania 197
ACT (Canberra) 4
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Dowden,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Dowden
    John Dowden 1840–1910 · bishop
  • Hester Dowden
    Hester Dowden 1868–1949 · writer
  • Florence Dowden Wood
    Florence Dowden Wood 1898–1988 · biologist
  • Steve Dowden
    Steve Dowden 1929–2001 · American football player
  • Michael Dowden d. 2000
  • Richard Dowden 1794–1861 · merchant

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 Dowden,
in the records of 4 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 States254 records

254 records of the Dowden name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 100
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 48
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 38
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 27
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 17
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 13
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 11
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Samuel B. Dowden

    Born 1920 in Virginia. Enlisted 1942 at Charlottesville; packer from Chesterfield County. U.S. Army veteran; died 1967, buried at Glendale National Cemetery, Virginia.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Hannah Dowden

    Arrived at New York in 1879 aboard the Adriatic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 27; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Charles Marvin Dowden

    U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Born 1936, died 1997; buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 254 records for Dowden 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) · 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, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia89 records

89 records of the Dowden name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 52
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 16
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 9
  • Tasmanian Names Index 7
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 3
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 2
  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 Thomas Dowden

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Salween in 1848.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Joseph Dowden

    Arrived in Victoria in 1889 aboard the Orizaba, aged 21; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Dowden

    Engineer of Tresco, Victoria; died 1915.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 89 records for Dowden in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada36 records

36 records of the Dowden name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 23
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 7
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Elihu Dowden

    Buried in 1921 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 41.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Margaret Dowden

    Died 1905 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. 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 Walter Roy Dowden

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 36 records for Dowden in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · 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); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom10 records

10 records of the Dowden name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 6
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Christopher Dowden

    Buried in 1824 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 40.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  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. Dowden

    Royal Fusiliers. 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 L. S. Dowden

    Labour Corps. 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 Dowden in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Dowden.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Dowden 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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