The Dowdy surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,468 people carried this name — #2,678 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 21,900 people counted. That is up 2% from 13,249 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

Where the name comes from

The origin of the Dowdy surname

Variant of Dowd.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Dowdy» (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

35 families named Dowdy, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 186 people lived in those households, 5.3 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 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

North Carolina 28
Virginia 4
South Carolina 3

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. 237 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Dowdy in American newspapers,
1903–1916.

Newspaper page from The Courier-journal carrying the name Dowdy
The Courier-journal 1903-09-10
Newspaper page from The Richmond Palladium And Sun-telegram carrying the name Dowdy
The Richmond Palladium And Sun-telegram 1916-07-08
Newspaper page from The Richmond Palladium And Sun-telegram carrying the name Dowdy
The Richmond Palladium And Sun-telegram 1907-10-15

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 35,364 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Dowdy in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1980s.

2,635 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dowdy. The most, 451, 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 South Australia, at 6.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 1,947
Victoria 259
Western Australia 185
New South Wales 170
Queensland 50
Tasmania 12
ACT (Canberra) 9
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Dowdy,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Dowdy
    John Dowdy 1912–1995 · lawyer
  • Lawrence Dowdy 1952–2018 · computer scientist

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Dowdy,
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 States734 records

734 records of the Dowdy name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 466
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 166
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 40
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 26
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 22
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Floyd I. Dowdy

    Born 1917 in Maryland. Enlisted 1944 at Baltimore; bookkeeper from Baltimore City. Veteran; died 1966, buried at Baltimore National Cemetery, Maryland.

    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 Mitchel Anthony Dowdy

    Born 1945; from Jefferson, Georgia. U.S. Army, unit supply specialist; died in an accident 1972 in Gia Dinh, 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 Peggy Dowdy

    Arrived at New York in 1853 aboard the Clarence from Galway, aged 50; housekeeper. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 734 records for Dowdy 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (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).

Australia63 records

63 records of the Dowdy name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 41
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 10
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 5
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 2
  • Tasmanian Names Index 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 Samuel Dowdy

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Susan, arriving 1834; ticket of leave 1842.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Honor Dowdy

    Arrived in Queensland in 1882 aboard the Manora, aged 28.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Harry T. Dowdy

    Coachsmith of Essendon, Victoria; died 1943.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 63 records for Dowdy in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Dowdy name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Edward J. Dowdy

    Died 1942 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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

    Died in service in 1942.

    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 Louise Kathleen Dowdy

    Married 1947 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 5 records for Dowdy in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Dowdy name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Dowdy

    Buried in 1890 at Mar Place Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 63.

    Stirling Council. 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 H. Dowdy

    Machine Gun 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 2 of 3 records for Dowdy in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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 Dowdy.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Dowdy 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 Dowdy volume
Scroll to Top