Meadows Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Meadows last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Meadows last name
Meaning of the Meadows last name: dweller by the meadows. Meadows is an English surname for someone who lived by a meadow, the -s meaning "of the meadows". Meadows were valuable grassland kept for hay, set apart from ploughland and common pasture. The last name is found across England, especially the Midlands and East Anglia. A curious detail: it is now most common in the American South and Appalachia, where English settlers took it.
Arms associated with the Meadows name
In heraldry the full achievement adds a helmet, mantling and other parts around the shield, and coats of arms associated with the Meadows name are usually shown in that fuller form.
Get your full Meadows family history
This is only a glimpse of the Meadows story. The full Meadows history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Meadows coat of arms. Get the full Meadows report.
Meadows name FAQ
What does the Meadows name mean?
Dweller by the meadows. Common variants include Meadow, Medows, Meddows.
Where does the Meadows surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Australia and Canada.
Is there a Meadows coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Meadows coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).