Lowrey
A spelling of Lowry, a surname with both Scottish nickname and Norman-place-name roots.
The #6,117 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 55,064 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lowrey is generally treated as a spelling variant of Lowry. One line of explanation connects it with Scottish Laurie/Lowrie, a nickname linked to the fox and by extension to a crafty or fox-like person. Another line connects Lowry-type surnames with Norman French place-names such as Lorei and related medieval forms like de Luri, which would make it locational rather than descriptive.
History
The historical sources show Lowrey used interchangeably with Lowry, Lawrey, Laurie, and similar spellings, especially in Scotland and northern England. In the 19th century, writers often treated these forms as variants of the same surname rather than separate names. Modern bearers in the United States likely descend from one or both of these older surname streams, depending on family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname dictionaries explicitly note Lowrey as one of several spellings used for the same family name, especially in Scottish records.
From the historical record
“hand." Boswell's Tour to the Hebrides. LOWREY. LOWRIE. See Lowry. LOWRIE. Loifj'ie and lawrie are, in Scotland, designations of the fox, and the words are also applied to a person of crafty or fox-like disposition. LOWRY. Frequently written Lewry, In Normandy there are two places called Lorei — one in the…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom