Farrow
An English surname that may come from an old personal name, though some bearers may also reflect later spelling variation from Pharaoh/Pharo.
The #3,353 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 28,930 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The sources suggest more than one possible path for Farrow. One line of explanation treats it as an English surname from an old personal name, with Barber linking it to Anglo-Saxon forms such as Fara or Faro; another source notes a possible connection with an old local or personal form rather than a fixed modern meaning. In some cases, especially in later records, Farrow may also represent spelling fluctuation with surnames like Pharo or Pharaoh, so the name does not have a single fully secure derivation.
History
The surname is found in English records, especially in the Midlands and northern counties cited by the older surname writers. Some of the historical material also points to interchangeable spellings such as Pharo, Pharoah, and Farrow, showing how fluid surname spelling could be in parish and census records. Because of that overlap, the modern surname may preserve several related lines rather than one neat origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books sometimes treat Farrow and Pharoah as related spellings, which is a good reminder that a surname’s modern form can hide a lot of historical spelling drift.
From the historical record
“PEYTON (Eng:) Bel. to Peyton : v. Payton. PHARAOH I normally an imit. form of Farrow PHAROAH • (q.v.) ; rarely a borrovying of the PHARO J Egyptian regal title i^araoft [cp.,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Farrow
- Mia Farrow (b. 1945)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.