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Dowse Family History

Dowse Name Meaning

English: nickname from Middle English douce dowce ‘sweet pleasant’ (Old French dolz dous later doux) or from the Middle English personal name Douce (borrowed from Old French Douce Latin Dulcia derived from Latin dulcis) with the same meaning. The name was sometimes used as a woman's personal name and occasionally used for a man. The modern name is mostly pronounced to rhyme with house but sometimes with loose as indicated by the variant Duce.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Dowe, Rowse, Howse, Towse, Dohse, Douse, Doane, Doble, Royse, Dowdey

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Dowse family from?

You can see how Dowse families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Dowse family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Dowse families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1840 there were 4 Dowse families living in Massachusetts. This was about 36% of all the recorded Dowse's in USA. Massachusetts had the highest population of Dowse families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Dowse surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Dowse ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Teacher were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Dowse. 29% of Dowse men worked as a Laborer and 28% of Dowse women worked as a Teacher. Some less common occupations for Americans named Dowse were Farm Labor and School Teacher. .

View Census Data for Dowse | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Laborer
    29%
  • Farmer
    22%
  • Salesman
    18%
  • Farm Labor
    7%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Teacher
    28%
  • Nurse
    19%
  • Back Binder
    19%
  • School Teacher
    19%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Dowse family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 31,000 census records available for the last name Dowse. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Dowse census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Dowse

Passenger Lists

There are 5,000 immigration records available for the last name Dowse. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Dowse immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 2,000 military records available for the last name Dowse. For the veterans among your Dowse ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Dowse military records

You've only scratched the surface of Dowse family history

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What is the average Dowse lifespan?

Between 1953 and 2004, in the United States, Dowse life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1958, and highest in 1953. The average life expectancy for Dowse in 1953 was 100, and 80 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Dowse

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