Bowman
A masculine name referring to a skilled archer or one who makes bows.
Name Census estimates that about 800 living Americans carry the first name Bowman. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bowman today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bowman births was 2024 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bowman. 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.
People living today
800
~ 1 in 428,443 Americans
Peak year
2024
53 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,523
Tracked since 1884
Popularity
Bowman: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bowman from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 300 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Bowman remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bowman 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 Bowman during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bowmans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia recorded the most babies named Bowman, while Tennessee, Texas, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bowman
The name Bowman has its origins in the Middle English language, dating back to the late 14th century. It derives from the Old English word "boga" meaning a bow or archer, and "man" signifying a person. The name was initially used to refer to soldiers or skilled archers who used bows and arrows as their primary weapons.
During the medieval period, the name Bowman was particularly prevalent in England, where archery played a crucial role in warfare and hunting. It was often bestowed upon individuals who excelled in the art of archery or held positions related to this skill, such as royal archers or members of archery guilds.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bowman can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which were records of landowners in England. The entry mentions a certain "Robertus le Bogheman" from the county of Oxfordshire.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Bowman:
1. Sir William Bowman (1816-1892), a renowned English surgeon and anatomist who made significant contributions to the study of the eye and vision.
2. Nathaniel Bowman (1773-1846), an American soldier and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio.
3. Isaiah Bowman (1878-1950), an American geographer and educator who served as the president of Johns Hopkins University from 1935 to 1948.
4. Lockie Bowman (1909-1983), an American baseball player who played for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox in the 1930s.
5. Scotty Bowman (born 1933), a legendary Canadian ice hockey coach who won a record nine Stanley Cup championships with the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings.
While the name Bowman has ancient roots, it has endured through the centuries and continues to be used in various cultures and regions around the world. Its connection to archery and warfare has given it a strong and distinctive character, often associated with skill, precision, and bravery.
People
Bowman + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bowman 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
Bowman: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bowman?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 800 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bowman 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 428,443 US residents.
Is Bowman a common name?
We classify Bowman as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 964 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bowman most popular?
The single biggest year for Bowman was 2024, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bowman is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bowman a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bowman 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.
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.