How common is the surname Bowes?

4,967 people in the United States had the surname Bowes in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 62,159 Americans. It ranked 6,791st of 162,253 surnames.

Is the surname Bowes getting more or less common?

More common. 4,847 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,967 in 2010, up 2.5%.

The surname Bowes

An English surname, carried by 4,967 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex B200

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Bowes is more common than 95.8% of them.

Origin

English origin

First attested as Bogas (1148). Probably from Old English boga/Old Norse bogi (“a bow”), in this case suggesting an arched bridge. Or else from an early Proto-Brythonic root meaning "a bend".

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 4,967 people named Bowes in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 62,159 Americans. That is up 2.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 4,847.

#6,791

rank among US surnames

4,967

people in 2010

1.7

per 100,000 Americans

+2.5%

change since 2000 (was #6,460)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#6,787	Hyder	4,971	62,109
#6,788	Coston	4,969	62,134
#6,790	Addington	4,968	62,147
#6,791	Bowes	4,967	62,159
#6,792	Coulson	4,966	62,172
#6,793	Fuhrman	4,965	62,184

Who is named Bowes

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

89% of people named Bowes identified as white (not Hispanic), 6.0% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 89%
Black (not Hispanic) 6.0%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.0%
Two or more races 1.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.2%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Bowes

Bowes has the Soundex code B200, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B200.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Bowes come from?: First attested as Bogas (1148). Probably from Old English boga/Old Norse bogi (“a bow”), in this case suggesting an arched bridge. Or else from an early Proto-Brythonic root meaning "a bend".
How common is the surname Bowes?: 4,967 people in the United States had the surname Bowes in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 62,159 Americans. It ranked 6,791st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Bowes?: In the 2010 Census, 89% of people named Bowes identified as white (not Hispanic), and 6.0% as Black (not Hispanic).
Is the surname Bowes getting more or less common?: More common. 4,847 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,967 in 2010, up 2.5%.