The Bowen surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 78,822 people carried this name — #407 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,740 people counted. That is up 2% from 77,078 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Bowen surname

A surname from Welsh [in turn originating as a patronymic].

From Welsh ap Owain (“son of Owen”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Bowen» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Owen’ — the first of the origins he gives.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 123 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 14 births for the Bowen name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 600 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Cork.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 11
Connacht 1
Leinster 1
Ulster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 115 people named Bowen live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 49
Río Negro 36
Chubut 19
Neuquén 11

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 45 people named Bowen.

Most of them — 24 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 8 départements, most often Nord.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 24
Nord 7
Paris 5
Seine-Maritime 4
Yvelines 1
Hauts-de-Seine 1
Seine-Saint-Denis 1
French Guiana 1
New Caledonia 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

41 people named Bowen live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 15
Fribourg 7
Zurich 7
Geneva 5
Aargau 4
Zug 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

38 people named Bowen is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 38

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Bowen was found among the farmers of 3 counties.

It was most frequent in South Wales: 82 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 122. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

South Wales 82
Herefordshire 17
Worcestershire 14

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Bowen was recorded 12 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1665th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 15. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

278 families named Bowen, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,594 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 7 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Massachusetts 63
Rhode Island 51
Pennsylvania 33
Maryland 29
North Carolina 26
Virginia 22
South Carolina 15
Connecticut 12
New Hampshire 9
Maine 6
Vermont 6
New York 6

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 230 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Bowen in American newspapers,
1874–1905.

Newspaper page from Memphis Daily Appeal carrying the name Bowen
Memphis Daily Appeal 1874-08-22
Newspaper page from The Cheyenne Daily Leader carrying the name Bowen
The Cheyenne Daily Leader 1891-12-30
Newspaper page from Iowa County Democrat carrying the name Bowen
Iowa County Democrat 1905-06-22

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 553,440 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Bowen in Australian newspapers,
1800s–2010s.

85,288 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bowen. The most, 12,977, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 23,658
Queensland 19,521
Victoria 17,409
South Australia 10,967
Western Australia 6,488
ACT (Canberra) 3,712
Tasmania 3,216
Northern Territory 35

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bowen.

Who carried it

People named Bowen,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Jabez Bowen
    Jabez Bowen 1739–1815 · judge
  • James Bowen
    James Bowen 1751–1835 · naval officer
  • Richard Bowen
    Richard Bowen 1761–1797 · military officer
  • Eliza Jumel
    Eliza Jumel 1775–1865 · businessperson
  • Nathaniel Bowen
    Nathaniel Bowen 1779–1839 · Christian minister

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 249 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Bowen,
in the records of 10 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States6,717 records

6,717 records of the Bowen name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,702
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 1,141
  • Other U.S. records 2,874
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Donald Bowen

    Born 1948; from Middle Village, New York. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1968 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Ernest R. Bowen

    Born 1921 in Arkansas. Enlisted 1942 at Little Rock; farm hand from Madison County. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Friendship Cemetery, Springdale, Arkansas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Jess S. Bowen

    Born 1917 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1941 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; undertaker from Humphreys County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Richland Cemetery, Waverly, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 6,717 records for Bowen in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia2,253 records

2,253 records of the Bowen name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,164
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 368
  • Other Australian records 721
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Joseph Bowen

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Emperor Alexander, sailing from Downs in 1833. Native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1840.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Patrick Bowen

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Asia, sailing from Portsmouth in 1827. Native of Dublin. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1839.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Samuel Bowen

    Died 1883 in Ringarooma, Tasmania, aged 42. Will registered in Tasmania in 1883.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,253 records for Bowen in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada362 records

362 records of the Bowen name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 241
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 32
  • Other Canadian records 89
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Columbus Bowen

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, private; of Paxton, Alberta.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record S'l Bowen

    Came to Ontario in 1871 aboard the Medway, landing at Quebec, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Chester Louis Bowen

    Died 1992, aged 58; buried at Transcona Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 3 of 362 records for Bowen in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom211 records

211 records of the Bowen name in the United Kingdom
  • Welsh wills index cards 123
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 72
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 16
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Bowen

    Will proved in 1926; of Swansea, Glamorgan.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Bowen

    Buried in 1801 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 25.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record F. W. Bowen

    Royal Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 211 records for Bowen in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand48 records

48 records of the Bowen name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 36
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 8
  • Other New Zealand records 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Sidney Stanley Bowen

    Born 1914, died 1988; buried at Kaiapoi Public Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Louisa Jane Bowen

    Died 1931, aged 76; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Harry Bowen

    Buried in 1945 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 58.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 48 records for Bowen in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France12 records

12 records of the Bowen name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Neville Arthur Bowen

    Born 1910 in Great Britain; died 1999 in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Joyce Bowen

    Born 1927 in the United Kingdom; died 1991 in Ollioules (Var).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 12 records for Bowen in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Germany7 records

7 records of the Bowen name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Franz Bowen

    Born 1894; from Schinkel, Osnabrück. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 5 January 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Johann Böwen

    From Tettingen, Saarburg. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 18 November 1915; then reported dead in the list of 11 November 1916 (Infantry Regiment No. 30).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 2 of 7 records for Bowen in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Bowen name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 1
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Elize Maria Bowen

    Died 1966 in Arnhem.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 3 records for Bowen in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Ireland1 record

1 record of the Bowen name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Bowen

    Died 1884, aged 67; buried at Clontuskert - St Matthews (CoI), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Bowen name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record David Bowen

    Died 1904 in Gent.

    Open Archives, Archief Gent (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Bowen.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Bowen is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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