Bowen

What Bowen means

Means “son of Owen”

From Welsh ab Owain (“son of Owen”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Bowen” (revision 93442223), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Bowen?

US: Rising: up from #516 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #1186 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 1,292 boys got the name (#266 that year). First in the US records in 1913.

How common

• About 1 in 1,322 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 2,108 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 6,547 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in SD (2.6 per 1,000 boys), ID (2.32 per 1,000 boys), MS (2.31 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Bowen is #266 in the US and #329 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 97.3% of US babies named Bowen were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Bowan12 US
• Bawan0 US · 5 E&W
• Bowin5 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Bowen

Boys

• Nash#255Editor’s note Up from #345 in 2015 to #255 in 2025 in the US
• Hayes#162“brushwood”^*
• Fletcher#545“arrow-maker”^*
• Oakley#454“oak + woodland clearing, glade”^*
• Jensen#282Editor’s note Up from #395 in 2015 to #282 in 2025 in the US
• Archer#98Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #289 in 2015, #98 in 2025

For a sister

• Carter#454“son of Arthur”^*
• Parker#106From a surname for “a gamekeeper”^*
• Quinn#97“descendant of Chief”^*
• Sutton#181“south + town”^*
• Sawyer#290“one who saws”^*
• Kinsley#93“Royal (a man's name) + s + woodland clearing”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Bowen’s. Rank is US 2025.