NameCensus.

UK surname

Cowman

An occupational surname derived from someone who tended or managed cows.

In the 1881 census there were 250 people recorded with the Cowman surname, ranking it #11,070 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 206, ranked #19,183, down from #11,070 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to St Bees, Skipton and Workington (Workington), Clossocks. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Tameside, Bradford and Melton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Cowman is 352 in 1891. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 17.6%.

1881 census count

250

Ranked #11,070

Modern count

206

2016, ranked #19,183

Peak year

1891

352 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Cowman had 250 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #11,070 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 206 in 2016, ranked #19,183.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 352 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Cowman surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Cowman surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Cowman 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 204 #10,250
1861 historical 232 #10,535
1881 historical 250 #11,070
1891 historical 352 #9,781
1901 historical 303 #11,569
1911 historical 299 #11,475
1997 modern 250 #15,281
1998 modern 252 #15,584
1999 modern 249 #15,844
2000 modern 240 #16,186
2001 modern 231 #16,365
2002 modern 231 #16,677
2003 modern 229 #16,601
2004 modern 228 #16,723
2005 modern 226 #16,782
2006 modern 227 #16,842
2007 modern 222 #17,288
2008 modern 226 #17,238
2009 modern 225 #17,631
2010 modern 226 #17,942
2011 modern 221 #18,039
2012 modern 202 #19,084
2013 modern 209 #18,984
2014 modern 208 #19,194
2015 modern 209 #19,018
2016 modern 206 #19,183

Geography

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Where Cowmans are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around St Bees, Skipton, Workington (Workington), Clossocks, West Derby and Bradford. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Tameside, Bradford and Melton. 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 St Bees Cumberland
2 Skipton Yorkshire, West Riding
3 Workington (Workington), Clossocks Cumberland
4 West Derby Lancashire
5 Bradford Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Tameside 008 Tameside
2 Bradford 019 Bradford
3 Bradford 024 Bradford
4 Melton 003 Melton
5 Bradford 029 Bradford

Forenames

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First names often paired with Cowman

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Cowman

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Cowman, 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

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Cowman surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Cowman household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Cowman is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. 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

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Cowman is most concentrated in decile 5 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

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

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Cowman falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

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

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Cowman is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

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

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Cowman

The surname COWMAN is of English origin, first appearing in the late 13th century. It derives from the Old English words "cu" meaning cow and "mann" referring to a man or individual. The name likely referred to someone who tended or herded cows, perhaps employed on a manor or estate.

Records show some of the earliest spellings were Coweman, Cowman, and Couman. The name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1273, with a Richard Coweman listed as a land tenant. In the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield from 1275, a John Coweman is recorded.

The Cowman surname also has ties to certain place names. In Yorkshire, there is the village of Cowman Hills, which may have influenced the name's development. Similarly, the Cowman Ridding area of Lancashire could relate to the surname's origins.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Cowman, born around 1310 in Somerset. He served as a archer under Edward III during the Hundred Years' War. Another early Cowman was William Cowman (c.1425-1492) who worked as a farmer and landowner in Oxfordshire.

Moving into the 16th century, records show a Thomas Cowman (c.1510-1578) who was a respected tanner in Gloucester. His grandson, also named Thomas (1550-1621), became a prosperous merchant trading wool across England.

In the 1600s, the name appeared in parish records in Lincolnshire with the baptism of Alice Cowman in 1632. A century later, Edward Cowman (1745-1823) gained some renown as a master carpenter who helped rebuild parts of London after the Great Fire.

Other noteworthy individuals with this surname include the soldier John Cowman (1787-1857) who fought in the Napoleonic Wars, and the scholar Robert Cowman (1819-1903), a professor of classics at Oxford University.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Cowman families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Cowman 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. Yorkshire leads with 96 Cowmans recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.96x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 96 3.96x
Cumberland 66 31.31x
Lancashire 50 1.72x
Cheshire 18 3.33x
Gloucestershire 7 1.46x
Northumberland 7 1.92x
Cambridgeshire 2 1.29x
Devon 2 0.39x
Berwickshire 1 3.37x
Hampshire 1 0.20x
Sussex 1 0.24x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Skipton in Yorkshire leads with 42 Cowmans recorded in 1881 and an index of 549.74x.

Place Total Index
Skipton 42 549.74x
Whitehaven 15 133.45x
Dukinfield 14 56.07x
Bradford 13 22.14x
Manningham 12 40.15x
Clitheroe 11 128.66x
Above Derwent 10 1282.05x
Preston Quarter 9 152.28x
Broughton In Salford 8 30.11x
Eccleshill 8 135.59x
Preston 8 10.29x
Seaton 8 325.20x
Longbenton 7 45.37x
Bramley In Bramley 6 64.59x
Bridekirk 6 357.14x
Gloucester St Mary Grace 6 4000.00x
Nether Wasdale 6 3750.00x
Tarleton 6 375.00x
Distington 5 462.96x
Rainford 5 159.24x
Bowling 4 16.65x
West Derby 4 4.71x
Keswick 3 111.52x
Liverpool 3 1.70x
Bootle Cum Linacre 2 8.67x
Cockermouth 2 45.05x
Habergham Eaves 2 7.53x
High Bickington 2 344.83x
Horsforth 2 37.59x
Idle 2 17.78x
Settle 2 107.53x
Shipley 2 15.89x
St Andrewthe Less 2 11.29x
Stayley 2 32.36x
Allerton 1 32.36x
Alverstoke 1 5.51x
Ardingly 1 76.34x
Blackburn 1 1.29x
Buttermere 1 909.09x
Coldingham 1 37.45x
Headingley Cum Burley 1 6.40x
Leeds 1 0.73x
Lymm 1 25.45x
Runcorn 1 8.03x
Waterhead 1 384.62x
Whittington 1 526.32x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 28
Elizabeth 13
Jane 9
Margaret 8
Ellen 7
Martha 7
Emma 6
Sarah 6
Ann 5
Annie 4
Agnes 3
Alice 3
Catherine 3
Hannah 3
Anne 2
Clara 2
Dinah 2
Elizth. 2
Esther 2
Maria 2
Ada 1
Eleanor 1
Elizth.J. 1
Emily 1
Ethel 1
Eunice 1
Fanny 1
Harriet 1
Isabella 1
Janet 1
Joanna 1
Margt. 1
Marion 1
Matha 1
May 1
Michal 1
Sophia 1
Susannah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Thomas 13
William 13
John 12
Joseph 7
Richard 7
George 6
James 6
Henry 4
Jeremiah 3
Robert 3
Walter 3
Andrew 2
Benjamin 2
Harrison 2
Samuel 2
Alfred 1
Amos 1
Arthur 1
Ben.T. 1
Daniel 1
Edward 1
Fred 1
Geo. 1
Harry 1
Herbert 1
Isaac 1
Jer. 1
Jonas 1
Jonathan 1
Jos. 1
Michael 1
Musgrave 1
Patrick 1
Peter 1
Philip 1
Pollard 1
Richardson 1
Richd.H. 1
Sylvester 1
Thos. 1
Tom 1
W. 1

FAQ

Cowman surname: questions and answers

How common was the Cowman surname in 1881?

In 1881, 250 people were recorded with the Cowman surname. That placed it at #11,070 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Cowman surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 206 in 2016. That gives Cowman a modern rank of #19,183.

What does the Cowman surname mean?

An occupational surname derived from someone who tended or managed cows.

What does the Cowman map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Cowman 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.