Bowyer Surname

34,085th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 15,548 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Guernsey

Bowyer Surname Definition:

(English) Bow-Maker [Middle English boghyere, boghiere, &c.; Old English boga, a bow + the agential suff. -ere] William le Boghyere.—Hundred Rolls Bowyers and Fletchers (v. Fletcher) are generally mentioned together in the records of the mediæval processions.

Read More About This Surname

Bowyer Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England5,9371:9,3851,374
United States5,8051:62,4397,319
Australia1,3691:19,7192,735
Canada7591:48,5455,894
Israel2851:30,0274,283
Wales2821:10,9741,226
South Africa2581:209,99122,252
New Zealand2391:18,9473,331
Scotland1401:38,2423,652
Northern Ireland741:24,9332,784
Singapore431:128,0865,748
Zimbabwe411:376,54234,729
Trinidad and Tobago391:34,9743,476
Switzerland271:304,18224,091
Argentina241:1,780,97692,783
Spain231:2,032,69753,462
France231:2,887,944200,772
Guernsey221:2,929767
Jamaica201:143,4975,007
Ireland141:336,35312,021
Jersey141:7,0861,520
Germany141:5,750,390205,224
Thailand121:5,886,529390,733
China101:136,732,1577,199
Brazil91:23,786,037375,389
Czechia81:1,329,18491,312
Norway71:734,61250,907
Venezuela51:6,040,81547,898
Italy41:15,289,172132,955
Denmark41:1,411,17960,800
Cyprus41:221,2198,471
Sweden31:3,282,252190,759
Costa Rica31:1,593,3568,177
Cook Islands31:6,0601,122
Nigeria31:59,047,586507,603
Russia21:72,061,528727,117
Philippines21:50,619,112341,003
Tanzania21:26,470,806111,653
Namibia21:1,204,70016,113
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
Cayman Islands11:63,8932,384
Japan11:127,844,29373,547
Liberia11:4,408,53547,110
Malaysia11:29,494,225409,885
Barbados11:287,4482,772
Morocco11:34,476,099111,471
Botswana11:2,186,92930,250
United Arab Emirates11:9,162,273135,437
Taiwan11:23,444,74693,622
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Bolivia11:10,616,43417,077
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland191:233,15110,389
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England3,1891:7,6441,175
Wales711:22,0901,271
Scotland101:374,32210,959
Jersey11:51,8823,898
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States9781:51,3485,814

Bowyer (21) may also be a first name.

Bowyer Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

(English) Bow-Maker [Middle English boghyere, boghiere, &c.; Old English boga, a bow + the agential suff. -ere] William le Boghyere.—Hundred Rolls Bowyers and Fletchers (v. Fletcher) are generally mentioned together in the records of the mediæval processions.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) One who made or sold bows.

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

A maker of bows for archery. A Bowyer's Company still exists in London.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

An archer, one who uses a bow; one who makes bows.

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

Baronets. This family has been derived from the B.s of Knippersley, Stafford, but erroneously; for the arms entirely differ, nor is there any evidence of descent. The name, as appears by the arms, was originally Bouvier (Robson). Hugo Bouvier and John B. were of Normandy, 1180-95 (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae). Galfrid le Boyer occurs in Kent 1250 (Roberts, Excerpt.). In 1273 William B. was of Sussex (Plac. de quo War.). Ralph B. was M.P. for Arundel 1555, and John M.P. for Steyning 1547.

The Norman People (1874)

From the Dutch, Bowier; a personal name.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Bowyer: the bowmaker. As a surname we have it in Bower and Boyer.

Family Names And Their Story (1913) by Sabine Baring-Gould

The name of Bowyer, which is also established in other counties, finds its present home in this county in the district of Bracknell. Robert Bowyer, who was mayor of Reading in 1558, also represented that town in Parliament (Co.) The name is still in the town John.

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

Bowyer Last Name Facts

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

Bowyer is more frequently found in England than any other country or territory. It may also occur as a variant:. For other potential spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Bowyer? popularity and diffusion

It is the 34,085th most commonly held family name on a worldwide basis, held by around 1 in 468,713 people. It is mostly found in Europe, where 42 percent of Bowyer live; 42 percent live in Northern Europe and 42 percent live in British Isles. Bowyer is also the 2,368,944th most common forename in the world. It is borne by 21 people.

The last name is most frequently used in England, where it is carried by 5,937 people, or 1 in 9,385. In England Bowyer is most frequent in: Greater London, where 10 percent live, Staffordshire, where 7 percent live and Cheshire, where 6 percent live. Outside of England Bowyer is found in 51 countries. It also occurs in The United States, where 37 percent live and Australia, where 9 percent live.

Bowyer Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Bowyer has changed over time. In England the number of people who held the Bowyer last name rose 186 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it rose 594 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Wales it rose 397 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it rose 1,400 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it contracted 26 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Bowyer Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the surname is predominantly Anglican (63%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Bowyer last name are 16.82% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 63.59% being registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Bowyer earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 7.08% more than the national average, earning 370,576 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 62.39% more than the national average, earning R 385,908 per year; in United States they earn 1.96% more than the national average, earning $43,995 USD per year and in Canada they earn 6.11% more than the national average, earning $52,717 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Boowyer921/
Boweyer920/
Bowier83432/
Bovyer8353/
Bewyer8335/
Bawyer836/
Bobyer834/
Vowyer832/
Bowger831/
Bowyerová801/
Boobyer77647/
Bouvyer7732/
Bobier675,191/
Bovier671,276/
Bewier6738/
Buvyer6728/
Bobjer6715/
Bubyer679/
Babyer674/

Search for Another Surname

Bowyer Reference & Research

Boyer FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions.

Boyer FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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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 Bowyer
  • 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