POWER. The surname variously written Le Poer, Power, Powre, Poore, &c., is of Norman origin. It has been illustrious in Ireland, from the time of Strougbow's invasion of tliat kingdom. Robert le Poer was engaged in his expedition, and received from Pembroke the territory of Waterford, excepting only " the city and the cantred of the Ostmen or Danes, whom the invaders found settled there, and in good policy encouraged as mercliants." D'Altou. The family were doubtless of Norman extraction, but of their history, previously to the time of Henry II., little seems to be known. The meaning of the name is obscure.

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.