The Bowker surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,980 people carried this name — #8,328 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 74,100 people counted. That is up 1% from 3,954 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Bowker surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as an occupational name: ‘the butcher’.

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

33 families named Bowker, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 181 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 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 20
Vermont 5
New Hampshire 3
New York 3
Pennsylvania 1
Virginia 1

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

Bowker in American newspapers,
1885–1912.

Newspaper page from Morning Appeal carrying the name Bowker
Morning Appeal 1885-07-01
Newspaper page from Democratic Messenger carrying the name Bowker
Democratic Messenger 1912-03-02
Newspaper page from Democratic Northwest And Henry County News carrying the name Bowker
Democratic Northwest And Henry County News 1897-01-21

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 42,860 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Bowker in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

9,573 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bowker. The most, 1,660, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 4,103
Queensland 1,832
Victoria 1,518
South Australia 1,399
Western Australia 453
Tasmania 232
ACT (Canberra) 23
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Bowker,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Ray Bowker d. 2020 · politician
  • William Bowker d. 1918 · soldier
  • John Harrison Bowker d. 1848 · naval officer
  • Mary Mitford Bowker d. 1962
  • Agnes Bowker 1540– · domestic worker
  • Martha Bowker 1685–1735

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Bowker,
in the records of 5 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 States441 records

441 records of the Bowker name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 157
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 72
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 63
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 55
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 48
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 41
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 4
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John R. Bowker

    Born 1916 in New Jersey. Enlisted 1942 at Camden; packer from Camden County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1982, buried at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Pennsylvania.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Nicholas Bowker

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Etruria from Liverpool, aged 28; spinner. From England; bound for Boston.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Billy Harvey Bowker

    U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Born 1933, died 1995; buried at Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 441 records for Bowker in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia326 records

326 records of the Bowker name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 153
  • Tasmanian Names Index 59
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 52
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 40
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 21
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  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 William Bowker

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Blenheim, sailing from Plymouth in 1850. Native of Manchester, Lancashire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1852. Married 1852 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 23.

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

    Died 1929 in Little Swanport, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1929.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record George Bowker

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1851. Married 1851 in Great Swanport, Tasmania, aged 31.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 326 records for Bowker 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). 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom22 records

22 records of the Bowker name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 21
  • Welsh wills index cards 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Annie Crossley Bowker

    Will proved in 1941; of Llandudno, Caernarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record R. Bowker

    East Lancashire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. J. Bowker

    Gunner, Royal Garrison Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 22 records for Bowker in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada20 records

20 records of the Bowker name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 14
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 4
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Walter Bowker

    Died 1870 in Clyde River, Shelburne, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Francis Grierson Hind Bowker

    Died 1910; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. 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 John Nesbitt Bowker

    Died in service in 1941.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 20 records for Bowker 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. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

New Zealand4 records

4 records of the Bowker name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Caroline Elizabeth Bowker

    Died 1890, aged 19; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Margaret Agnes Bowker

    Died 1930, aged 85; buried at Linwood 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 Ada Gunnham Bowker

    Died 1947, aged 76; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Bowker in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Bowker.

When the index is not enough

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