NameCensus.

UK surname

Clowe

A surname originally denoting someone who lived near a cliff or ravine.

In the 1881 census there were 116 people recorded with the Clowe surname, ranking it #18,126 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 110, ranked #29,225, down from #18,126 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Eccles, Edinburgh and Moffat. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Telford and Wrekin, Carrick South and Sefton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Clowe is 131 in 1891. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 5.2%.

1881 census count

116

Ranked #18,126

Modern count

110

2016, ranked #29,225

Peak year

1891

131 bearers

Map years

5

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Clowe had 116 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #18,126 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 110 in 2016, ranked #29,225.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 131 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Clowe surname distribution map

The map shows where the Clowe surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Clowe surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Clowe over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 82 #19,317
1861 historical 83 #23,189
1881 historical 116 #18,126
1891 historical 131 #20,073
1901 historical 106 #22,076
1911 historical 92 #23,580
1997 modern 105 #26,188
1998 modern 112 #25,856
1999 modern 107 #26,754
2000 modern 115 #25,591
2001 modern 106 #26,468
2002 modern 100 #27,944
2003 modern 92 #28,974
2004 modern 94 #28,896
2005 modern 100 #28,025
2006 modern 96 #28,946
2007 modern 94 #29,650
2008 modern 97 #29,527
2009 modern 96 #30,239
2010 modern 106 #29,305
2011 modern 104 #29,424
2012 modern 111 #28,332
2013 modern 111 #28,856
2014 modern 106 #30,030
2015 modern 109 #29,327
2016 modern 110 #29,225

Geography

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Where Clowes are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Eccles, Edinburgh, Moffat, Manchester and Kirkpatrick-Fleming. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Telford and Wrekin, Carrick South, Sefton, Ipswich and Sandwell. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Eccles Lancashire
2 Edinburgh Edinburgh
3 Moffat Dumfries
4 Manchester Lancashire
5 Kirkpatrick-Fleming Dumfries

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Telford and Wrekin 009 Telford and Wrekin
2 Carrick South South Ayrshire
3 Sefton 004 Sefton
4 Ipswich 013 Ipswich
5 Sandwell 029 Sandwell

Forenames

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First names often paired with Clowe

These lists show first names that appear often with the Clowe surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Clowe

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Clowe, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Clowe surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Clowe household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Clowe is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Clowe is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Clowe falls in decile 6 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Clowe is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Clowe, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Clowe

The surname Clowe is of English origin, emerging in the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "cloh," meaning a ravine or valley. The name likely referred to someone who lived near or worked in such a geographical feature.

Clowe is found in early records from counties like Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Cheshire, where the name holders were concentrated. One of the earliest documented instances is Richard de Clowe, recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in 1332.

In the 14th century, the name appears in the Cartulary of Whalley Abbey, a medieval manuscript from Lancashire. This suggests the Clowe family had ties to the monastic community during that period.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain the surname Clowe. However, it does mention place names like Clow Beck and Clow Cross, which may have influenced the surname's development.

Notable individuals with the surname Clowe include:

1. John Clowe (c. 1530-1592), an English merchant and Member of Parliament for London in 1572. 2. Thomas Clowe (1576-1635), an English clergyman and author of theological works. 3. Edward Clowe (1622-1678), an English landowner and Justice of the Peace in Cheshire. 4. Mary Clowe (1670-1735), a philanthropist from Lancashire who endowed a school for poor children. 5. William Clowe (1782-1856), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars.

As the name spread across England, variations in spelling emerged, such as Clough, Clowes, and Clows. Some of these variants may have been influenced by place names like Clowworth and Cloughton, further reflecting the name's geographical origins.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Clowe families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Clowe surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Suffolk leads with 30 Clowes recorded in 1881 and an index of 21.40x.

County Total Index
Suffolk 30 21.40x
Dumfriesshire 15 58.99x
Middlesex 15 1.30x
Lancashire 10 0.73x
Cambridgeshire 8 10.97x
Lincolnshire 8 4.35x
Midlothian 7 4.54x
Yorkshire 7 0.61x
Durham 4 1.17x
Staffordshire 4 1.03x
Derbyshire 3 1.66x
Channel Islands 2 5.86x
Cheshire 2 0.79x
Angus 1 0.94x
Norfolk 1 0.57x
Perthshire 1 1.94x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. St Luke London in Middlesex leads with 12 Clowes recorded in 1881 and an index of 65.01x.

Place Total Index
St Luke London 12 65.01x
Kirkpatrick Fleming 8 1379.31x
Edenham 7 3181.82x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 7 11.28x
Moffat 7 603.45x
Creeting All Sts 5 4166.67x
Leeds 5 7.76x
Pendlebury 5 173.61x
Salford 5 12.45x
Woodbridge 5 279.33x
Bishopwearmouth 4 13.61x
Ely Holy Trinity St Mary 4 125.79x
Bury St Edmunds St James 3 80.21x
Long Eaton 3 126.05x
Lowestoft 3 45.32x
Outwell 3 2142.86x
Parham 3 1666.67x
Wolstanton 3 25.42x
Ipswich St Margaret 2 42.02x
Islington London 2 1.79x
Marlesford 2 1428.57x
St Helier 2 18.02x
Sutton 2 909.09x
Butley 1 666.67x
Chatteris 1 53.76x
Dundee 1 2.51x
Dunning 1 153.85x
Hunslet 1 5.62x
Ipswich St Mathew 1 25.45x
Little Glemham 1 909.09x
Oxton 1 69.44x
Paddington London 1 2.36x
Reydon 1 769.23x
Rippingdale 1 454.55x
Rockland All Sts 1 909.09x
Runcorn 1 17.06x
Stoke Upon Trent 1 2.43x
Thorndon All Sts 1 400.00x
Wortley In Bramley 1 11.07x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Clowe surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Clowe surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

FAQ

Clowe surname: questions and answers

How common was the Clowe surname in 1881?

In 1881, 116 people were recorded with the Clowe surname. That placed it at #18,126 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Clowe surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 110 in 2016. That gives Clowe a modern rank of #29,225.

What does the Clowe surname mean?

A surname originally denoting someone who lived near a cliff or ravine.

What does the Clowe map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Clowe bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.