ROW
The surname Row is of English origin and possesses an etymology that reflects both Anglo‑Saxon and Old Norse linguistic influences.
Its earliest known derivation is topographical. In Middle English, the word row denoted a line of houses or a strip of land defined by hedgerows. The term itself derives from the Northern Middle English raw and the Old English pre‑7th century raw, a word that still today suggests a grove of trees. Consequently, bearers of the surname were commonly identified as the dwelling‑type of a person who lived by a hedgerow or a row of cottages.
An alternative derivation is from the Old Norse personal name Hróðr, meaning “fame”, or from the Old English ruh meaning “roe”, the female deer. In these circumstances the surname arose as a nickname that highlighted attributes associated with a deer such as gentleness and speed, or as a later adaptation of a given name that entered Britain with Norse settlers.
The first recorded spellings of the name appear in the early thirteenth century. The name Richard atte Rowe is recorded in the “Assize Rolls of Staffordshire” in 1306, a witness in the court of King Edward I, also known as the Hammer of the Scots. In 1317 the name John de Rowe is a witness in the Assise Rolls of Kent, and in 1327 the surname appears as Robert del Rowe in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk. The surname is also found in Devon where, according to heraldic records, a Row family was granted a coat of arms consisting of a silver shield, a central azure chevron between three trefoils slipped per pale of red and green. The crest is described as a buck's head couped red, attired gold.
Among notable historical individuals is William Row (1563–1634), a Scottish Presbyterian divine. Graduated at Perth in 1587, he served as minister of Forgandenny, protested the restoration of episcopacy during the years 1602–1606, and was imprisoned from 1607 to 1614 for opposing the appointment of a permanent moderator.
Over the centuries the spelling of the surname varied, giving rise to forms such as Rowe, Roe, Rew, Rowan, and Rowlands. In the latter half of the Middle Ages—approximately 1350 to 1450—many families adopted alternative spellings, a phenomenon common to surnames derived from geographic features. In Scotland, the name may also have been adopted from the border area of Rouedale or Rowedale; in some cases it is considered an anglicised form of Gaelic surnames such as Mac an Bhó or Mac Giolla Bhó, which have produced surnames like Roth, Rooney, Rouke, and Rooks.
In contemporary times the surname is most frequently found outside the British Isles, notably in the United States and Canada, where it was carried by early English, Scottish, and French settlers and later by Jewish immigrants. Nevertheless the name maintains its historical roots in England and Scotland, reflecting a lineage that is both geographically grounded and linguistically diverse.
Typical given names associated with the Row surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- George
- James
- John
- Matthew
- Michael
- Peter
- Robert
- Stephen
Female
- Angela
- Ann
- Annette
- Christine
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Florence
- Jennifer
- Julie
- Linda
- Margaret
- Sarah
- Susan
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 Row in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 803 people named Row in the UK. That makes it roughly the 8,740th most common surname in Britain. Around 12 in a million people in Britain are named Row.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Row
- Raman Subba Row - Test and County cricketer
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.