The Bowling surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 26,762 people carried this name — #1,311 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 11,000 people counted. That is up 3% from 25,938 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Bowling surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Bowling’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 124 · public domain.

In print

Bowling in American newspapers,
1871–1908.

Newspaper page from Lawrence Democrat carrying the name Bowling
Lawrence Democrat 1892-01-15
Newspaper page from The Nashville Globe carrying the name Bowling
The Nashville Globe 1908-03-13
Newspaper page from Knoxville Daily Chronicle carrying the name Bowling
Knoxville Daily Chronicle 1871-02-25

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,360 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Bowling in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

35,880 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bowling. The most, 10,420, date from the 1900s. 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 Tasmania, at 2.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 17,660
Victoria 5,177
Tasmania 4,990
Queensland 4,423
South Australia 2,103
Western Australia 1,444
ACT (Canberra) 58
Northern Territory 6

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

Who carried it

People named Bowling,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William B. Bowling
    William B. Bowling 1870–1946 · judge
  • William King Bowling 1808–1885 · physician
  • Edward Woodley Bowling 1837–1907 · cleric
  • Charles T. Bowling 1891–1985 · painter
  • Kenneth Bowling 1929–1997 · cricketer
  • Roger Bowling 1944–1982 · composer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Bowling,
in the records of 6 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 States1,342 records

1,342 records of the Bowling name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 881
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 298
  • Other U.S. records 163
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Clyde T. Bowling

    Born 1922 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Croft, South Carolina; textile mill worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Mount Harmony Baptist Church Cemetery, North Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Gary Dean Bowling

    Born 1947; from Seven Mile, Ohio. U.S. Army, indirect fire infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Betty Bowling

    Arrived at New York in 1856 aboard the Ontario from Liverpool, aged 19; laborer. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 1,342 records for Bowling 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, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia234 records

234 records of the Bowling name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 97
  • Tasmanian Names Index 89
  • Other Australian records 48
  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 Mary Bowling

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Aurora, sailing from London in 1851. Native of Stepney, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1855.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Chas Wm Bowling

    Arrived in Victoria in 1886 aboard the Austral, aged 24; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Frederick R. Bowling

    Pastoralist of Tasm, Victoria; died 1946.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 234 records for Bowling 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) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada20 records

20 records of the Bowling name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 6
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 4
  • Other Canadian records 10
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Marion Eva Bowling

    Buried in 1985 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 81.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. 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 Sidney Bowling

    Died in service in 1917.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Lucy Katherine Bowling

    Married 1946 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 20 records for Bowling in Canada.

Counts: 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. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom15 records

15 records of the Bowling name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 7
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 7
  • Stirling Council burial records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Bowling

    Buried in 1909 at Valley Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 43.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Bowling

    Corporal, Machine Gun Corps. 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 F. Bowling

    King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry). 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 15 records for Bowling in the United Kingdom.

Counts: 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. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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 Zealand3 records

3 records of the Bowling name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 2
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William John Bowling

    Died 1906, aged 65; 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 Susan Bowling

    Died 1898, aged 47; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Bowling in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City 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).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Bowling name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 1
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Harold Bowling

    Married in 1946 in Helmond.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Beatrice Bowling

    In the population register of 's-Gravenhage; born 1889 in Cheffield.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Bowling.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Bowling 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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