English
The surname Powers is of English and Irish origin. It was a habitational name from the Old French 'Pohier' a native of 'Pois', a town in Picardy; apparently so called from the Old French 'pois', fish, because of its well stocked rivers. It may also be derived from the English nickname for a poor man, or ironically for a miser, from the Middle English, Old French 'povre', 'poure' poor ( Latin 'pauper' ). Probably the vow of poverty would give the devotee such a sobriquet among his friends, and the title would be proudly borne; other such names would be Barefoot, Pauper and Poore. The name came to Ireland with the Normans in Strongbow's twelfth century invasion in the form le Poer. The name thus is not Gaelic in origin, however, it is in that class of hibernicized names which may be regarded as one hundred percent Irish. It is sometimes Gaelicized to de Poar. The name is now one of the most numerous in Ireland. The Power's distillery in Ireland produces a famous drop of Irish whiskey. The name dates back to the eleventh century were a Walter le Poher is recorded in historical archives. The name was brought to America by English and Irish immigrants. One of the first fore fathers to bring this name to America is that of a William Powers, who emigrated to America aboard the Calvert; he settled in Maryland. This name is the two-hundredth and fifty-third most common surname in America.