Dowd Family History

Dowd Surname Meaning

Irish: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Dubhda ‘descendant of Dubhda’ a byname derived from dubh ‘dark black’. The family were chieftains in Sligo and Mayo. The surname in northern England seems to have come from the Isle of Man.

English: from the Middle English personal name Doude perhaps a side-form of either Dodde (see Dodd and compare Dowding) or of Daude a pet form of Ralph (see Dawson and Dowson).

A nickname from Middle English doude ‘shabby unattractive woman’ is formally also possible but seems unlikely to have become a hereditary surname.

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

Similar surnames: Dodd, Dow, Daw, Dowds, Dowie, Bow, Dawdy, Doud, Dold, Gold

428,000 record(s) for Dowd

140K	Birth, Marriage, and Deaths
19K	Military Records
18K	Immigration Records
101K	Census and Voter Lists
149K	Member Trees

Where is the Dowd family from?

You can see how Dowd families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Dowd family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Dowd families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 42 Dowd families living in Connecticut. This was about 29% of all the recorded Dowd's in USA. Connecticut had the highest population of Dowd families in 1840.

Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Dowd surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Dowd ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Clerk were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Dowd. 15% of Dowd men worked as a Laborer and 9% of Dowd women worked as a Clerk. Some less common occupations for Americans named Dowd were Clerk and Housewife.

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

15%

Farmer

10%

Salesman

6%

Clerk

5%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

Clerk

9%

Stenographer

9%

Teacher

9%

Housewife

7%

What Dowd family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 101K census records available for the last name Dowd. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Dowd census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Passenger List

There are 18K immigration records available for the last name Dowd. 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.

Military Records

There are 19K military records available for the last name Dowd. For the veterans among your Dowd ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

What is the average Dowd lifespan?

Between 1942 and 2004, in the United States, Dowd life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1955, and highest in 1999. The average life expectancy for Dowd in 1942 was 41, and 77 in 2004.

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Dowd ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.