Marlow
A habitational surname taken from places called Marlow, especially the Buckinghamshire town by the river and hill.
The #2,728 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 23,381 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Marlow is a locational surname from the English place-name Marlow, especially the town in Buckinghamshire. Harrison explains the Domesday form as meaning something like “hill or tumulus by the mere,” from Old English elements for “lake/mere” and “hill/mound.” In other words, it originally described a notable landscape feature near water.
History
The surname arose when people were identified by their place of origin or residence. The name is recorded in English parish and marriage registers from at least the 18th century, and it remained most closely associated with southern England. Like many locative surnames, it spread more widely as people moved away from the original place.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
There are several English places called Marlow, which helped the surname develop in more than one locality.
From the historical record
“1 ledK] I MARLOW (Eng.) Bel. to Marlow (Bucks), the Domesday Merlawe = the Hill or Tumulus by the Mere [O.E. mere, a lalc'e -1- hlAw] MARMION l (Fr.) a nickname = Little MARMON J Monkey [O.Fr. marmion, a mar- mot or small monkey ; merme, very small (Scheler) -|- the dim. suff, -i-oii] M A R N E R (A. - Fr. - Lat.)…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)