POW
Pow is a surname that is found across the British Isles and beyond. It has a number of distinct origins that are recorded in traditional sources and archival evidence.
The English root derives from the Old English word paw, meaning “peacock”. As a topographic surname it was applied to those who lived near a place where peacocks were kept or to a person who displayed peacock-like qualities such as pride or flamboyant display. In the 16th and 17th centuries the surname appears in London parish registers under spellings such as Po, Poe, Poo, Pow, Powe, Paw and Pooe, indicating a well established presence in urban England since at least the Elizabethan era.
In Wales the name is thought to be a contracted form of ap Owain, meaning “son of Owain”. The personal name Owain was common among Welsh nobility and is linked to the medieval kingdom of Powys. Variants such as Powell, Power, Paw and Pawl are common among families of Welsh descent. The Cumbric element ap is cognate with the Gaelic Mac, highlighting a shared Celtic heritage.
The Scottish version of Pow originates from the word pol or pou, which denotes a pool or pond. It was a locational surname given to people who dwelt near such a waterbody. Early Scottish records show a concentration of the name in the Borders area from around the twelfth century, and the surname remains most frequent in the southern and eastern regions of Scotland today. Migration of Scots‑Irish Protestants in the eighteenth century carried the name to the United States, while later nineteenth and twentieth‑century emigration spread it to Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Other possible sources of the name are Italian, where a family living by a river named Po may have adopted the name, and Chinese, where the transcription Pao or Bao can be rendered as Pow in English contexts. However, these uses are comparatively rare and do not form the main body of the surname’s history in the English‑speaking world.
Today, Pow is relatively uncommon, with an estimated global population between twelve thousand and fifteen thousand. It remains a distinctive identifier in Britain, particularly in Scotland, and retains a presence wherever the descendants of early bearers have settled. Its rich tapestry of origins and its continuity through centuries of record make the surname an intriguing subject for genealogical study.
Typical given names associated with the Pow surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- Colin
- David
- Desmond
- James
- John
- Richard
- Robert
- Stuart
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Amanda
- Carol
- Christine
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Ja
- Jane
- Jean
- Karen
- Linda
- Margaret
- Nicola
- Susan
- Valerie
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Pow in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 1,178 people named Pow in the UK. That makes it roughly the 6,503rd most common surname in Britain. Around 18 in a million people in Britain are named Pow.
