Fow Family History

From Middle English fogh fou fow ‘spotted variegated multicoloured streaked’ (Old English fāh), perhaps in reference to skin or hair or to clothing. The word was also used in Middle English to denote a kind of parti-coloured fur.

Some post-medieval bearers cited below may alternatively belong at (2). From Middle English fo foo ‘hostile’ (Old English fā) or ‘enemy’ (Old English gefā), in the latter sense perhaps given to someone who played the Devil in a folk play or pageant.