How common is the surname Bowden?

24,560 people in the United States had the surname Bowden in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 12,571 Americans. It ranked 1,450th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Bowden?

Katrina Bowden, American actress and model, followed by Mark Bowden.

Where is the surname Bowden most common?

Wikidata records people named Bowden in the United States and Australia.

How do you pronounce Bowden?

Bowden is /ˈbaʊdən/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Bowden getting more or less common?

More common. 23,677 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 24,560 in 2010, up 3.7%.

The surname Bowden

An English patronymic surname, carried by 24,560 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈbaʊdən/ 2 syllables Soundex B350

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Bowden is more common than 99.1% of them.

Origin

English origin

* As an English surname, from several places in England, derived from Old English boga (“bow”) + dun (“hill”). * Also as an English surname, from Old English būfan dun (“above the hill”). * As a Scottish surname, from the place in Roxburghshire from Old English bōthl (“dwelling house”) + denu (“valley”). * As an Irish surname, Anglicized from Ó Buadáin (literally “descendant of Buadán”). * Also as an English surname, variant of Bawden.

Bowden is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 24,560 people named Bowden in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 12,571 Americans. That is up 3.7% since 2000, when the Census counted 23,677.

#1,450

rank among US surnames

24,560

people in 2010

8.3

per 100,000 Americans

+3.7%

change since 2000 (was #1,373)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,441	Yarbrough	24,749	12,475
#1,442	McCauley	24,743	12,478
#1,443	Elias	24,696	12,502
#1,444	Jacob	24,688	12,506
#1,445	Meredith	24,679	12,510
#1,446	McElroy	24,668	12,516
#1,447	Groves	24,629	12,536

Who is named Bowden

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

73% of people named Bowden identified as white (not Hispanic), 21% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 73%
Black (not Hispanic) 21%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 2.0%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Bowdens

7 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Katrina Bowden
American actress and model, born 1988
Mark Bowden
American journalist and writer (born 1951)
Lemuel J. Bowden
American politician (1815-1864)
Frank Philip Bowden
Australian physicist, 1903–1968
Scott Bowden
Australian cyclist, born 1995
Michael Bowden
American baseball player, born 1986
Charles Bowden
American writer (1945-2014)

Notable Bowdens come mostly from the United States (5) and Australia (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Bowden

Bowden has the Soundex code B350, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B350.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Bowden come from?: * As an English surname, from several places in England, derived from Old English boga (“bow”) + dun (“hill”). * Also as an English surname, from Old English būfan dun (“above the hill”). * As a Scottish surname, from the place in Roxburghshire from Old English bōthl (“dwelling house”) + denu…
How common is the surname Bowden?: 24,560 people in the United States had the surname Bowden in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 12,571 Americans. It ranked 1,450th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Bowden?: In the 2010 Census, 73% of people named Bowden identified as white (not Hispanic), and 21% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Bowden?: Katrina Bowden, American actress and model, followed by Mark Bowden.
Where is the surname Bowden most common?: Wikidata records people named Bowden in the United States and Australia.
How do you pronounce Bowden?: Bowden is /ˈbaʊdən/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Bowden?: Bowden is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Bowden getting more or less common?: More common. 23,677 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 24,560 in 2010, up 3.7%.