Stowell
A location-based surname meaning “from Stowell,” a name borne by places in Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire.
The #5,390 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 47,830 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Stowell is a habitational surname, taken from one of several English places called Stowell. The name is usually explained as coming from Old English elements meaning a “stow” or place, plus either healh, “a nook or corner,” or, in some cases, a different local element in the place-name itself. Some historical writers also linked the Gloucestershire place-name to a form meaning “stone spring,” but the surname is chiefly explained as belonging to the place-name family.
History
The surname appears in medieval records in forms such as de Stawell and Stowell, showing the normal process by which people were identified by their home village. It is associated especially with places in Gloucester, Somerset, and Wiltshire, and later spread into wider English and overseas use. The spelling has varied over time, including Stawell and Stowel.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries note a provincial pronunciation of Stowell as “Stool,” showing how far local speech could drift from the spelling.
From the historical record
“&c. STOWELL. Places in cos. Gloucester, Somerset, and Wilts bear the name of Stowel. STOWER. Three parishes in Dorset- shire are so called. STOWERS. A pluralization of Stower. STRACEY. Tlie baronets Strachey and Stracey both derive from the county of”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom