Powell

#8,747 in 2025Boys' name

Son of Hywel

Powell has been given to 1,491 babies in the U.S. since 1883. In 2025 it ranked #8,747 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1919, with 32 recorded.

Babies named Powell, 2025

1 in 368,000

Powell over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Powell: meaning, origin, and history

Son of Hywel

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Powell means

Powell means “son of Hywel”, associated with Hywel.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

The anglicized form of Welsh ap Hywel (“son of Hywel”).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Powell (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Powell is used in English.

Powell comes through Welsh ap Hywel.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Howell.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Powell is pronounced /ˈpaʊ.(w)əl/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,485 boys were recorded with the name Powell between 1883 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 32 in 1919; its best national rank was #935 in 1891.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #10,322 in 2020 to #8,747 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #10,344 in 2015 to #8,747 in 2025.

In the United States, 6 girls were recorded with the name Powell between 2016 and 2016. Its highest annual count was 6 in 2016; its best national rank was #15,786 in 2016.

How common is Powell?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025: 1 in 368,000; 9 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only: 1 in 190,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025: #8,747; of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size: 255,323 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Powell sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 255,323 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Powell. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Powells were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Powell was born before 1944 — so the typical Powell is around 81 today.

Median birth year: 1944; About 81 years old
Biggest decade: 1920s; 14.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 14.9%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 651; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1920s — 14.0% of all recorded uses (208).

Is Powell rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: −578; Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago: +1,575; Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago: +1,597; Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago: 1.29×; More babies than then
Share of its own peak: 28.1%; Peak was 1919 (32)
Years since peak: 106; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 26.0% average annual change
Best rank ever: #935; 1891

Spellings of Powell

Powell is not the most common spelling — Lowell is, with 45.8% against Powell's 1.6%.

Lowell45.8%41,330
Odell16.5%14,883
Donell5.3%4,827
Jewell5.2%4,684
Howell4.3%3,923
Lovell3.8%3,412
Newell3.6%3,240
Ewell2.3%2,051

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Powell is used

Across 1910–2025, Powell was most concentrated in Georgia — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 413,126 across all states with data. It was least common in Mississippi (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

State popularity map

Most concentrated

1Georgia1 in —
2Mississippi1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Powell has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Powell by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: #8,747
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: Up 1,575
Best rank ever: #935; 1891
Peak year: 1919; 32 that year
First recorded: 1883
Last recorded: 2025
All-time count: 1,485
Count in 2025: 9

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #15,786; 2016
Peak year: 2016; 6 that year
First recorded: 2016
Last recorded: 2016
All-time count: 6
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Powell

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Romell Mikell Ronell Jerell Lydell Jamell Kyrell Tarell Terell Mykell Jowell Lavell Jarell Roswell Lovell Lionell Denzell Ozell Connell Kordell Johnell Joell Howell Marvell

Sibling names for Powell

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Lida Margarette Lona Harriette Marcelle Albina Lovie Linnie

For a brother

Regis Junius Haywood Antone Winfield Trinidad Cletus Gustave

Explore around Powell

Top names of 1919, Powell's peak year The 1910s in full Other names that peaked in 1891 Boys' names starting with P