ROWLING
The surname Rowling is an English family name of British origin, traditionally found in the region of the British Isles, particularly within England. It is generally considered a locational surname of Christian England, reflecting a particular type of geographical feature.
Its earliest recorded derivation is from the Old English word rawling or rowling, which denotes a small tract of land that has been cleared of trees. Consequently the name was usually given to those who lived adjacent to, or owned, such a piece of land. Over the centuries the spelling of the name varied, producing related forms such as Rawling and Rawlings.
However, a second source proposes a Norman and French origin for the name. In this view it arises from the personal names Rolf or Rowland. The Normans introduced the Germanic name Rolf, formed from the elements hrod meaning renown and wulf meaning wolf, rendered Latinised as Rollo; the Germanic name Rowland itself is composed of the elements hrod and land, meaning renown and territory. Both personal names gave rise to a family of surnames, including diminutive forms such as Rowling, Rowlatt and Rolling.
Historical evidence for the surname dates back to the early fourteenth century. The first known instance of the family name is that of Geoffrey Roulin, recorded in the 1327 Suffolk Subsidy Rolls during the reign of King Edward the First, who is known as Edward of Caernafon. Later, in 1779, the name appears in the parish register of St. Leonard's, Shoreditch, London, where Amy Rowling was married to John Ham on 14 February.
In contemporary times the surname is most widely recognised through the celebrated British author J.K. Rowling, who gained global acclaim for the Harry Potter series. While her fame has cast a particular spotlight upon the name, it is borne by many other individuals who descend from the original locational or Norman lineages that give rise to the surname.
Typical given names associated with the Rowling surname
Male
- Christopher
- Daniel
- David
- John
- Jon
- Keith
- Mark
- Michael
- Neil
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Timothy
Female
- Ann
- Clare
- Deborah
- Elizabeth
- Helen
- Karen
- Louise
- Margaret
- Mary
- Melissa
- Nelly
- Nicola
- Rachel
- Sarah
Similar and related surnames
- Railing
- Ralling
- Rauling
- Rawling
- Rawlings
- Rawlinson
- Rayling
- Realing
- Reeling
- Rehling
- Reiling
- Relling
- Reuling
- Rewling
- Riling
- Rilling
- Roehling
- Roeling
- Roelink
- Rohling
- Rolin
- Roling
- Rolings
- Rolingson
- Rolington
- Rolink
- Rolins
- Rollen
- Rollin
- Rolling
- Rollinger
- Rollings
- Rollingson
- Rollington
- Rollins
- Rollnick
- Rolnick
- Rolnik
- Rowlin
- Rowlings
- Rowlingson
- Rowlingston
- Rowlins
- Rowlinson
- Rowllings
- Ruling
- Ryling
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Rowling in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 793 people named Rowling in the UK. That makes it roughly the 8,835th most common surname in Britain. Around 12 in a million people in Britain are named Rowling.
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 Rowling
- J. K. Rowling - Novelist
- Tobi Adebayo-Rowling - Football player
- Ian Rowling - Canoe racer
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.