Bowes Surname

25,960th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 20,734 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Saint Barthelemy

Bowes Surname Definition:

Genit., or pl., of Bow(e, q.v.

This name was Latinized in mediæval documents De Arcubus [abl. pl. of Latin arcus, a bow, an arch]

Bowes Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States6,8841:52,6526,330
England5,9221:9,4091,382
Canada2,7421:13,4371,983
Australia1,3771:19,6052,723
South Africa1,1161:48,5466,178
Jamaica8721:3,291483
Scotland4261:12,5681,673
Ireland3061:15,3891,732
Saudi Arabia2781:110,99214,774
Israel1531:55,9327,235
New Zealand1411:32,1165,589
Northern Ireland1111:16,6222,199
Wales1071:28,9212,968
Zimbabwe411:376,54234,729
France321:2,075,710171,237
Germany271:2,981,684140,707
Isle of Man271:3,179679
Thailand251:2,825,534284,782
Brazil161:13,379,646256,605
Singapore131:423,66918,211
Papua New Guinea131:627,20974,307
Qatar91:262,00030,726
Netherlands81:2,110,89788,902
India61:127,844,230863,365
Mexico61:20,687,70153,861
Norway61:857,04855,549
Sweden51:1,969,351134,077
Jersey51:19,8403,614
Argentina51:8,548,683204,003
Saint Barthelemy41:2,40444
Italy41:15,289,172132,955
Panama41:978,06412,245
Malta41:107,5681,849
Chile41:4,404,11844,633
Philippines31:33,746,074302,898
Switzerland31:2,737,638105,941
Turkey21:38,910,711171,901
Malaysia21:14,747,112316,340
China21:683,660,78330,601
Oman11:3,687,97114,390
United Arab Emirates11:9,162,273135,437
Bhutan11:616,0391,715
Bahrain11:1,348,60810,432
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
Angola11:26,989,21411,853
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Cameroon11:20,769,068227,406
Cayman Islands11:63,8932,384
Dominican Republic11:10,432,93236,508
Madagascar11:23,649,8379,420
Kazakhstan11:17,682,496204,010
Japan11:127,844,29373,547
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
Iraq11:35,021,65431,813
Iran11:76,782,524277,718
Indonesia11:132,249,194811,426
Iceland11:380,09011,096
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Georgia11:3,745,54547,852
Denmark11:5,644,71593,155
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland4401:10,0681,453
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England2,5391:9,6001,446
Scotland2191:17,0921,822
Wales151:104,5614,503
Jersey21:25,9413,069
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,1261:44,5995,164

The alternate forms: Böwes (15) are calculated separately.

Bowes (73) may also be a first name.

Bowes Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

Genit., or pl., of Bow(e, q.v.

This name was Latinized in mediæval documents De Arcubus [abl. pl. of Latin arcus, a bow, an arch]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) One who came from Bowes (bows, probably referring to an arched bridge), in Yorkshire; descendant of Boga (bow).

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

A parish in Yorkshire.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

This surname, according to Grose, originated as follows: about the time of the Conqueror, there was a town (on the site of the Castle of Bowes), which the tradition of the family states, was burned. It then belonged to the Earls of Brittany and Richmond. The castle was built, as Mr. Horseley thinks, out of the ruins of the Roman Fortress, by Alan Niger, the second earl of that title, who, it is said, placed therein William, his relation, with five hundred archers to defend it against some insurgents in Cambridge and Westmorland confederated with the Scots, giving him for the device of his standard the arms of Brittany, with three bows and a bundle of arrows, whence both the castle and the commander derived their names; the former being called Bowes Castle, and the latter, William de Arcubus, or William Bowes.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

From Boves, Normandy. John de Bowes or Boves occurs in Normandy 1180 (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae). Hugh de Boves, t. William I., had grants in Notts (Wiffen, Mem. Russell). Hugh de Boves commanded in Poitou and Flanders for King John (Roger Wendover, iii. 287). William de Boves, of Notts, was dead 1219 (Roberts, Excerpta).

The Norman People (1874)

Bowes is a name evidently taken from the North Riding parish thus called. The family of Bowes of Aske, in the North Riding, played a notable part in the county during the 16th and 17th centuries (W. R.). The name has long been prominently connected with York, and it is in that locality that it is now best represented. Lord mayors of York and the representatives of the city in parliament during the 15th century bore this name (D.). A gentle family of Bowes has been connected with Darlington since the 17th century (Longstaffe's "Darlington").

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

Bowes Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Bowes Come From? nationality or country of origin

Bowes (Arabic: باوز) is borne by more people in The United States than any other country or territory. It may appear as a variant: Böwes. Click here for other possible spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Bowes? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 25,960th most frequently used family name at a global level. It is borne by around 1 in 351,478 people. This last name occurs mostly in The Americas, where 44 percent of Bowes are found; 39 percent are found in North America and 39 percent are found in Anglo-North America. It is also the 1,134,117th most widespread first name in the world It is held by 73 people.

The surname is most frequent in The United States, where it is carried by 6,884 people, or 1 in 52,652. In The United States Bowes is most common in: North Carolina, where 11 percent are found, Florida, where 8 percent are found and New York, where 7 percent are found. Outside of The United States Bowes is found in 61 countries. It is also common in England, where 29 percent are found and Canada, where 13 percent are found.

Bowes Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Bowes has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people who held the Bowes surname increased 611 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 233 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it increased 195 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Ireland it declined 30 percent between 1901 and 2014 and in Wales it increased 713 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Bowes Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the surname is predominantly Catholic (67%) in Ireland.

In The United States Bowes are 4.93% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 51.7% being registered with the political party.

The amount Bowes earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 39.75% less than the national average, earning 208,503 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 71.19% more than the national average, earning R 406,824 per year; in United States they earn 4.98% more than the national average, earning $45,297 USD per year and in Canada they earn 1.76% more than the national average, earning $50,557 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Böwes9315/
Bouwes91283/
Bowies9115/
Bowesh916/
Boewes913/
Bowesd912/
Boweis912/
Bowess911/
Boweys911/
Boowes911/
Bowese910/
Boes898,831/
Bowesch831/
Boweise830/
Boyes8013,744/
Boies802,078/
Bobes801,759/
Boves80541/
Bewes80518/
Boess80302/
Bowis80154/
Bojes8082/
Boesz8038/
Boesh8037/
Bawes8019/
Bowej8019/
Boues805/
Vowes805/
Bhoes802/
Buwes801/
Bowex801/
Bowez801/
Bowesová771/
Boesch735,234/
Boheas73266/
Bawues73247/
Bogges73239/
Boubes73157/
Bhoyes73108/
Booyes7353/
Beweis7330/
Bowise7324/
Bouesc7323/
Baioes7321/
Bovest7313/
Bawies7310/
Bouyes737/
Bovese736/
Bobesh734/
Bawesh734/
Bojues733/
Baewes733/
Bowerz732/
Bawese732/
Bouese732/
Booies732/
Bovees731/
Bauwes731/
Bhobes731/
Bhojes731/
Bhoves731/
Bohies731/
Vouwes731/
Bouess731/
Boyies731/
Bobeas731/
Bouwex731/
Bowysz731/
Bhoies731/
Bawess731/
Bawees731/
Bouehs730/
Boyess730/
Boiese730/
Bovesh730/
Vowess730/
Bowetz730/
Bowiss730/
Boyese730/
Bovies730/
Boevis730/
Boveus730/
Bowice730/
Bois6716,620/
Baes6711,003/
Beas6710,233/
Boggess675,898/
Boys675,884/
Bies675,461/
Beis674,081/
Bees672,565/
Bous672,085/
Beus671,760/
Bues67855/
Beys67665/
Boez67539/
Bouesse67481/
Byes67290/
Boubess67150/
Bovesse6778/
Bowhuis6754/
Boeß6725/
Bhawesh6720/
Bouyesh6720/
Bouyess6712/
Bhoyese679/
Baweesh679/
Bojs678/
Bejs676/
Boubees675/
Buowais674/
Boyesse674/
Bowisch672/
Boswuez671/
Bouveis671/
Bouwhis671/
Boyvets671/
Bowhice671/
Bouvest671/
Bouwais671/
Bhoyees671/
Baouesh671/
Baweshe671/
Bouvies670/

Bowes Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Bowes in the Arabic language
باوزbawz-

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Bowes Reference & Research

Bowes One-name Study - A profile of the Bowes surname with contact details for a researcher who collects any information pertaining to it.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Bowes
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis