Contents [hide]

Rowley History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Rowley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Rowley surname is derived from the Irish Gaelic "Ó Rothlain," a patronymic, meaning "descendant of Rothlan." 1

Early Origins of the Rowley family

The surname Rowley was first found in County Mayo (Irish: Maigh Eo) located on the West coast of the Republic of Ireland in the province of Connacht, in Connacht. The chief of the Ó Rothlain sept or Clan held a family seat in the parish of Easkey, on the east side of the river Easkey in County Sligo.

Early History of the Rowley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rowley research. Another 187 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1208, 1337, 1597 and 1795 are included under the topic Early Rowley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rowley Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Rowland, Rowlan, Rowlands, Rollan, Rollin, Rolan and many more.

Early Notables of the Rowley family

More information is included under the topic Early Rowley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rowley World Ranking

In the United States, the name Rowley is the 2,267^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 2 However, in Australia, the name Rowley is ranked the 877^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,508 people with that name. 3 And in the United Kingdom, the name Rowley is the 490^th popular surname with an estimated 13,197 people with that name. 4

Rowley migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Rowley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Henry Rowley, who landed in New England in 1634 5
Christopher Rowley, who landed in Maryland in 1656 5
John Rowley, who arrived in Virginia in 1665 5

Rowley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

George Rowley, who arrived in America in 1801 5
Ann Rowley, aged 30, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1812 5
Thomas Rowley, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1833 5
Nelson B Rowley, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 5
Mrs. Sarah Rowley, aged 59, British settler who arrived in New York aboard the ship "Cynosure" in 1863
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Rowley migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Rowley Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century

Mr. Samuel Rowley, English convict who was convicted in Essex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Barwell" in September 1797, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6

Rowley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Joseph Rowley, English convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 14 years , transported aboard the "Duke of Portland" in January 1807, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Miss Ann Rowley, (b. 1783), aged 29, English servant who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Emu" in October 1812, the ship was captured and the passengers put ashore, the convicts were then transported aboard the "Broxburnebury" in January 1812 arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1875 8
Mr. James Rowley, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Baring" in December 1818, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. Charles Rowley, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
Mr. Samuel Rowley, British Convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Rowley migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Rowley Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Elizabeth Rowley, (b. 1858), aged 10 months, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Mystery" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 29th March 1859 11
Miss Matilda Rowley, (b. 1858), aged 10 months, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Mystery" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 29th March 1859 11
Mrs. Mary Rowley, (b. 1816), aged 42, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Mystery" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 29th March 1859 11
Mr. Joseph Rowley, (b. 1818), aged 40, British labourer travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Mystery" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 29th March 1859 11
Mr. John Rowley, (b. 1838), aged 20, British general labourer travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Mystery" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 29th March 1859 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Rowley migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 12

Rowley Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Joseph and John Rowley, who settled in Barbados in 1686

Contemporary Notables of the name Rowley (post 1700) +

Jeremy Rowley, American character actor and comedian
Christopher Rowley (b. 1948), American Compton Crook Award winning writer of science fiction and fantasy
Janet Davison Rowley (1925-2013), American human geneticist, the first scientist to identify a chromosomal translocation as the cause of leukemia, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009
Cynthia Rowley (b. 1958), American fashion designer
James Jose Rowley (1908-1992), American administrator, director of the U.S. Secret Service (1961-1973)
Richard William Morris "Dick" Rowley DCM (1904-1984), Irish professional footballer
Vice Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley (1730-1790), 1st Baronet, Commander in Chief Jamaica
Sir Mark Peter Rowley Q.P.M., British retired senior Police Officer, previously the Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations of the Metropolitan Police Service, was appointed a Knight Bachelor on 8th June 2018, for service to Policing 13
William Rowley (1742-1806), English man-midwife, son of William Rowley of St. Luke's, Middlesex, born in London; despite not being a physician, he wrote numerous articles on various diseases, he died at Savile Row of typhus fever on 17 March 1806
William Spencer "Bill" Rowley (1865-1939), English football goalkeeper
... (Another 15 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Rowley family +

USS Arizona

Mr. Welton D. Rowley, American Lieutenant Commander working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he survived the sinking 14

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 29th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barwell
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duke-of-portland
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Emu
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62310, 4 July 2019 | London Gazette, The Gazette, June 2018, https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/62310/supplement/B1
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html