TROW
Trow is an English surname with a long and well documented history. The earliest surviving record of the name appears in 1185, when a Ralph Truwe is noted in the register of the Knights Templars in Kent during the reign of King Henry 11 (1154‑1189). This establishment of the surname in a chivalric register indicates that the name had already been in use for several decades.
The surname occurs under a variety of spellings, including Trew, Trewer, Trow, Trowe, Trower, and the more eclectic forms Truor, Traharr and Trohear. All of these variants are recognisable as originating from the same linguistic source and attest to the fluid orthography of medieval English. Records from the 12th to the 17th centuries also provide examples such as Roger Trowe in the Curia Regis rolls for Wiltshire (1200), William Trewe on the Subsidy Tax Rolls of Yorkshire (1310), Edmunde Trowe who married Allyce Wyles on 12 October 1572 at Sunbury on Thames, Elizabeth Trower who married Jeffrey Clarke at Uxbridge church, Middlesex (28 April 1574), and John Trow christened at St. Stephen’s church, Coleman Street, London (3 August 1600).
There are two principal etymological explanations for the name. The first is that Trow is a nickname for a person of reliability and trustworthiness. This derives from the Old English word treowe (pre‑7th century), meaning steadfast or trustworthy. The second explanation is topographical: the name may have been given to someone who lived near a trow, a term describing a shallow hollow or depression in the ground. Such usage is found in place‑names such as Trowbridge and suggests that the bearers of the surname were associated with notable landscape features.
In another line of inquiry, Trow has sometimes been considered a variant of the occupational surname Trower. The latter refers to a maker or seller of wooden troughs or tubs, a common trade in medieval England. Although the occupational hypothesis is plausible, the historical records favour the nickname or topographic origins for the bulk of the early usages of Trow.
Overall, the evidence indicates that Trow is an ancient English surname with documented appearances from the late 12th century onward. Its multiple spellings illustrate the linguistic diversity of medieval England, while the dual possible meanings reflect the common medieval practice of deriving surnames either from personal attributes or from geographical circumstances. The name has endured into the modern era, preserving its place within English onomastic heritage.
Typical given names associated with the Trow surname
Male
- Alan
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- John
- Michael
- Paul
- Philip
- Richard
- Sean
- Stephen
Female
- Ann
- Dorothy
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Julie
- Patricia
- Rebecca
- Sandra
- Sarah
- Victoria
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 Trow in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
Did you know?
According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Trow are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Triple chocolate biscuit.
There are approximately 1,905 people named Trow in the UK. That makes it roughly the 4,381st most common surname in Britain. Around 29 in a million people in Britain are named Trow.
Famous people named Trow
- Phil Trow - Radio presenter
- James Trow - Canadian politician (1826 to 1892)
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.