Powell (surname)

Powell is a traditional Welsh surname. It is sometimes said to mean "Son of the Servant of St. Paul", but is more likely to be a patronymic from the Welsh first name Howel. The Old Celtic term "ap" means "son of", hence ap Howel was eventually spelled as Powell. At the time of the British Census of 1881, the frequency of the surname Powell was highest in Brecknockshire (21.9 times the British average), followed by Radnorshire, Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Shropshire, Glamorgan, Flintshire, Denbighshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.

Deceased

• Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. (1865 – 1953), prominent minister of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York
• Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (1908 – 1972), minister and politician, first African American to become a powerful figure in the United States Congress
• Alfred Hoare Powell (1865 – 1960) English Arts and Crafts architect, pottery decorator and artist
• Anthony Powell (1905 – 2000), English novelist
• Arthur William Baden Powell (1901 – 1987), New Zealand malacologist and paleontologist
• Baden Powell (mathematician) (1796 – 1860), English mathematician; father of Robert Baden-Powell
• Bill Powell (1916 – 2009), American golf course designer
• Billy Powell (1952 – 2009), keyboardist of the American band Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Brian Powell (1973 – 2009), American baseball player
• Bud Powell (1924 – 1966), jazz pianist and composer
• Cecil Frank Powell (1903 – 1969), British physicist and Nobel laureate in physics
• Cozy Powell (1947 – 1998), English drummer for bands such as Black Sabbath, Rainbow, and Whitesnake
• Cynthia Lennon née Powell (1939 – 2015), first wife of John Lennon
• Dawn Powell (1896 – 1965), American writer of satirical novels and stories
• Dick Powell (1904 – 1963), American singer, actor, producer, and director
• Dilys Powell (1901 – 1995), British journalist, author, and film critic
• E. Alexander Powell (1879 – 1957), American war correspondent during World War I and author
• Eileen Louisa Powell (1913 – 1997), Australian trade unionist and women's activist
• Eleanor Powell (1912 – 1982), American actress and dancer
• Elkan Harrison Powell (1888 – 1966), American publisher
• Enoch Powell (1912 – 1998), British politician
• Ernest Powell (1861 – 1928), English cricketer
• Felix Powell (1878 – 1942), Welsh songwriter, best known for "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile"
• Sir Francis Powell, 1st Baronet (1827 – 1911), English Conservative Member of Parliament
• Frank Powell, stage and silent film actor, screenwriter, and director
• Frank Powell, English football manager
• Frederick Powell (1895 – 1992), British Royal Air Force pilot
• George Henry Powell (1880 – 1951), Welsh songwriter, wrote the lyrics for "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile"
• Israel Wood Powell (1836 – 1915), a politician in early British Columbia, Canada, notable as an Indian Commissioner whose commission is important in the history of aboriginal affairs in that province
• James Powell and Sons, English glassworkers
• Jody Powell (1943 – 2009), White House press secretary for Jimmy Carter
• John Wesley Powell (1834 – 1902), American soldier, geologist, and explorer of the American West
• Lewis Thornton Powell (1844 – 1865), assassin, confederate soldier, hanged as a conspirator in the Lincoln assassination
• Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. (1907 – 1998), Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
• Lewis W. Powell (1882 – 1942), American politician and lawyer
• Mel Powell (1923 – 1998), American jazz pianist and composer
• Michael Powell (1905 – 1990), British film director
• Michael J. D. Powell (1936 – 2015), British mathematician
• Philip Powell (architect) (1921 – 2003), British architect
• Ray Edwin Powell (1887-1973) Canadian businessman (founder of Alcan Aluminium) and educator (Chancellor of McGill University)
• Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell (1857 – 1941), British Army lieutenant-general; founder of the world Scouting Movement
• Robert E. Powell (1923 – 1997), mayor of Monroe, Louisiana, 1979 to 1996
• Roger Powell (1896 – 1990) was an English bookbinder.
• Ron Powell (footballer) (1929 – 1992), goalkeeper who played for Chesterfield
• Sandy Powell (comedian) (1900 – 1982), English comedian best known for his radio work of the 1930s
• Seth Powell (1862 – 1945), Wales international footballer
• Thomas Powell (botanist) (1809 – 1897), missionary to Samoa and botanist
• Vince Powell (1928 – 2009), British sitcom writer
• Wick Powell (1905 – 1973), Welsh international rugby union footballer
• Wickham Powell (1892 – 1961), Welsh international rugby union and rugby league footballer
• William Powell (1892 – 1984), American actor
• William G. Powell (1871 – 1955), Marine Corps Brevet Medal recipient

Living

• Adam Powell (game designer) (born 1976), co-founder of Neopets
• Adam Clayton Powell IV (politician) (born 1962), American politician
• Andrew Powell (born 1949), English music composer and performer
• Andy Powell (born 1950), English guitarist for rock band Wishbone Ash
• Andy Powell (born 1981) Welsh Rugby Union international
• Asafa Powell (born 1982), Jamaican athlete
• Boog Powell (born 1941), popular nickname of John Wesley Powell, American major league baseball player (1961–77)
• Caroline Powell (born 1973), New Zealand equestrian
• Charles Powell (born 1941), Advisor to Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major
• Colin Powell (born 1937), former United States Secretary of State and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Daren Powell (born 1978), West Indian cricketer
• Dennis Powell (born 1963), pitcher in Major League Baseball
• Dina Powell (born 1974), Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs in the United States
• Don Powell (born 1946), drummer for English rock band Slade
• Eric Powell (born 1975), American comic book artist and writer
• Gary Powell, (born 1969) American–British musician, previously drummer in The Libertines, now drummer in Dirty Pretty Things
• Henry "Tank" Powell (born 1945), Louisiana politician
• Hope Powell (born 1966), English female footballer and manager
• Ivor Powell (born 1916), Welsh footballer
• Jenny Powell (born 1968), English television presenter
• John Powell (born 1963), British film score composer
• Kieran Powell (born 1990), Nevisian cricketer
• Lamar Powell (born 1993), English footballer
• Laurence Powell (born 1962), former Los Angeles police officer involved in the beating of Rodney King
• Magnus Powell (born 1974), Swedish footballer
• Mark Powell (conductor) (born 1966), American symphony and opera conductor
• Matt Powell (born 1978), Welsh rugby union footballer
• Mike Powell (athlete), American world record holder in the long jump
• Mike Powell (Louisiana politician), American politician
• Nick Powell (born 1994), English footballer
• Nigel Powell (born 1971), English musician
• Norman Powell (basketball) (born 1993), American basketball player
• Peter Powell (disc jockey) (born 1951), BBC Radio 1 disc jockey in the 1970s and 1980s
• Ricardo Powell (born 1978), Jamaican cricketer
• Robert Powell (composer) (born 1932), American composer
• Robert Powell (born 1944), British actor
• Sandy Powell (costume designer) (born 1960), British costume designer who has been nominated nine times for the Academy
• Sara Jordan Powell (born 1938), American gospel musician
• Shawn Powell (American football) (born 1988), American football player
• Thomas Powell (ice hockey), Australian ice hockey player
• Tristram Powell (born 1940), English television director, film director, writer and producer
• Walter W. Powell (born 1951), American sociologist
• Wendy Powell (born 1971), American voice actor

Fictional characters

• Colleen Powell, character in the Australian TV series Prisoner
• Herbert 'Herb' Powell, Homer Simpson's half brother
• Powell, various family members on No Ordinary Family television series
• Sergeant Al Powell is the only ally of McClane, the cop that has to face terrorist in the Die Hard movie