An Irish and English surname of Powers comes from the Old French term of ‘povre’ which was from the Latin word of ‘pauper’ meaning someone who is poor. So the meaning of Powers is to be a pauper. It is also a form of the singular name ‘Power.’ The Gaelic term for the surname is ‘de Paor’.

For Powers the only spelling difference is in the singular form of Power.

Many Powers families left Ireland in the 1840s and resettled in North America and Australia.
In the city of London and in Lancashire county are the most Powers families. In Wales they live in Glamorgan county. The counties of Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire in Scotland have the greater percentage of those with the Powers surname.

In New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, Texas, California and Michigan are the higher numbers of Powers families in the United States.
Famous: Richard Powers (novelist), Hiram Powers (19th century sculptor), John Holbrook Powers (19th century pioneer in the state of Nebraska), Francis Gary Powers (U. S. U-2 pilot shot down by the Soviet Union in the 1950s), Mala Powers (TV actress), Preston Powers (sculptor) and Stefanie Powers (actress).