# Bowen (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/bowen/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

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

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Welsh |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 78,822 |
| US rank (2010) | 407 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 3,917 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.3% (77,078 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈboʊ.ən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Welsh ab Owain (“son of Owen”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Bowen in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 82% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 12% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.7% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Bowen in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain.

## People named Bowen

- Elizabeth Bowen, Anglo-Irish novelist and diarist (1899–1973)
- Andrea Bowen, American actress
- Stephen Bowen, American astronaut
- Bruce Bowen, American basketball player (born 1971)
- Ira S. Bowen, American physicist and astronomer (1898–1973)
- Michael Bowen, American actor
- James Bowen, author and musician (born 1979)
- Clare Bowen, Australian actress and singer
- Otis R. Bowen, American politician (1918-2013)
- George Bowen, British colonial administrator, 9th Governor of Hong Kong, 1st Governor of Queensland (182
- Jonathan Bowen, British computer scientist
- Ryan Bowen, American basketball player/coach

and 13 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Boone, Bone, Bohn, Boon, Bonn, Bown, Boan, Bohne, Boen, Bowne, Boyne, Bean.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.