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Sowerby Family History

Sowerby Name Meaning

English: habitational name from any of various places in northern England called Sowerby including Sowerby Bridge (Yorkshire) Castle Sowerby (Cumberland) Brough and Temple Sowerby (Westmorland) Sowerby and Sowerby under Cotcliffe (North Yorkshire) and Sowerby near Inskip and Sowerby Hall in Dalton (Lancashire). The placenames derive from Old Norse saurr ‘mud sour ground’ + bȳ ‘farmstead village’. Placenames of identical origin are also found in Scotland (as Sorbie in Ayrshire Dumfriesshire and Wigtownshire as Soroba in Argyll and as Soroby on Tiree); also on the Isle of Man (as Surby).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


Similar surnames: Owenby, Sorby, Overby, Welby, Lowery, Bowlby, Pomeroy, Nerby, Norby

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Where is the Sowerby family from?

You can see how Sowerby families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Sowerby family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Sowerby families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1840 there were 2 Sowerby families living in New York. This was about 67% of all the recorded Sowerby's in USA. New York had the highest population of Sowerby families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Sowerby 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 Sowerby ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Teacher were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Sowerby. 75% of Sowerby men worked as a Laborer and 67% of Sowerby women worked as a Teacher. Some less common occupations for Americans named Sowerby were Salesman and Assembler. .

View Census Data for Sowerby | 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
    75%
  • Salesman
    25%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Teacher
    67%
  • Assembler
    34%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Sowerby family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 30,000 census records available for the last name Sowerby. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Sowerby census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Sowerby

Passenger Lists

There are 2,000 immigration records available for the last name Sowerby. 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 Sowerby immigration records

Draft Cards

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

View all Sowerby military records

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What is the average Sowerby lifespan?

Between 1965 and 2004, in the United States, Sowerby life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1991, and highest in 1990. The average life expectancy for Sowerby in 1965 was 74, and 80 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Sowerby

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