Find out how popular the last name Bower is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bower.

Bower, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bower surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bower in America

Bower is the 1682nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bower surname appeared 21,445 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Bower.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bower to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bower

The surname Bower is an English occupational name derived from the Old English word 'bur' or 'bure', meaning 'dwelling' or 'shelter'. It referred to someone who lived in or was responsible for maintaining a bower or small shelter, often temporary, in a woodland or garden.

The name can be traced back to the late 12th century in various regions of England, particularly in the counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire. It is believed to have originated as a descriptive surname, given to individuals whose occupation involved building or maintaining these temporary shelters.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1208, which mentions a certain William le Bower. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also contain references to individuals with the surname Bower, such as Roger le Bower in Buckinghamshire and John le Bower in Oxfordshire.

The Bower surname is closely related to the place name Bower in Yorkshire, which was recorded as 'Bure' in the Domesday Book of 1086. This suggests that the surname may have derived from this location, as it was common for people to adopt surnames based on the places they lived or came from.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Bower. One of the earliest was John Bower, a 15th-century English Benedictine monk and historian who wrote the Scotichronicon, a renowned chronicle of Scottish history. Another notable figure was Walter Bower, a 16th-century English printer and publisher who established a successful printing business in London.

In the 18th century, Archibald Bower was a Scottish historian and writer who gained fame for his work "The History of the Popes". He was born in 1686 and lived until 1766. Another significant figure was Henry Bower, a 19th-century English architect and surveyor, born in 1808 and known for his work on several notable buildings in London.

Lastly, Kathleen Bower, born in 1888 and died in 1959, was a British author and playwright who wrote several novels and plays, including "Mistress Masham's Repose" and "The Circus Is Not Like This".

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bower

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bower.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bower was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bower has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bower was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bower, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!