Bowe
An English surname derived from the Old French word "bouvier" meaning herdsman.
Name Census estimates that about 173 living Americans carry the first name Bowe. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bowe today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bowe births was 2014 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bowe. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Bowe with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
173
~ 1 in 1,981,239 Americans
Peak year
2014
17 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,871
Tracked since 1977
Census
Bowe in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 214 people with the first name Bowe, which placed it at #36,840 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#36,840
National first-name rank
People counted
214
214 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bowe
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bowe is White at 83.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Hispanic (3.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bowe described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bowe at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.6% · 179
- Two or more races5.1% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 8
- Black or African American3.3% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Popularity
Bowe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bowe from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 87 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Bowe remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bowe by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bowe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bowe
The name Bowe is believed to have originated from the Old English word "boga," which means "bow" or "archer." This suggests that the name may have initially been used to describe someone who was skilled in archery or worked as a bowyer, a maker of bows.
The earliest recorded use of the name Bowe dates back to the 13th century in England. It was during this period that surnames began to emerge, often derived from occupations, locations, or personal characteristics. The name Bowe likely arose as a descriptive surname for someone associated with the bow and arrow.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Bowe was John Bowe, a prominent English archer who lived in the late 14th century. He was renowned for his skill with the longbow and participated in several military campaigns during the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Richard Bowe was a prominent English scholar and theologian. He was born in 1499 and served as the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, from 1548 until his death in 1567.
Another historical figure with the name Bowe was John Bowe, an English Puritan minister who lived in the 17th century. He was born in 1609 and served as a pastor in various parishes in England before emigrating to New England in 1638, where he continued his ministry.
In the 18th century, a significant figure bearing the name Bowe was Thomas Bowe, an English engraver and painter. He was born in 1718 and is best known for his engravings of landscapes and architectural subjects, as well as his paintings of portraits and historical scenes.
During the 19th century, a notable individual with the name Bowe was William Bowe, an Australian explorer and surveyor. He was born in 1802 and played a crucial role in the exploration and mapping of various regions in New South Wales and Queensland, contributing significantly to the understanding of the Australian landscape.
While the name Bowe has its roots in Old English, it has been used across various cultures and regions throughout history. These examples showcase the diverse individuals who have carried this name, from archers and scholars to ministers, artists, and explorers, reflecting the rich tapestry of human experiences associated with this distinctive moniker.
People
Bowe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bowe as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bowe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bowe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 173 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bowe going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,981,239 US residents.
Is Bowe a common name?
We classify Bowe as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 175 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bowe most popular?
The single biggest year for Bowe was 2014, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bowe is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bowe in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 214 people with the name Bowe, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,840 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bowe in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bowe?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bowe leans strongly male. 198 people counted with this name were male (90.0%), compared with 22 female bearers (10.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bowe?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bowe is White at 83.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Hispanic (3.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bowe most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bowe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.6% (179 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bowe in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bowe a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bowe in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Bowe still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bowe in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bowe can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Bowe as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Bowe on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.