Given name & surname
Bowen
“the son of Owen”
Bowen is used as a given name and a surname. One Welsh interpretation is “the son of Owen.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Welsh interpretation is “the son of Owen.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Welsh.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1913. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Bowen through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 13,513
- 13,187 boys · 326 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 1,328 babies
- 2025
- 1,328
- #266 for boys · #3,993 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +44%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,292 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 266 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 43.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 36 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (124). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,909 as a first name in 2020; 75,672 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Bowen’s family of names
Bowen has a related form in Bowan. Bowen has a related form in Bowin. Bowen has a related form in Bowon.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Bowen
- Bowen YangChinese-American comedianborn 1990
- Bowe BeckerAmerican swimmerborn 1997
- Bowen StassforthAmerican swimmer1926–2019
- Sonny TuftsAmerican actor (1911-1970)
- Bowen ByramCanadian ice hockey playerborn 2001
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Bowen, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ronan
“resembling a little seal”
99% boys · 1% girls
Owen
“born of Esos”
>99% boys
Rowan
“of the red-berry tree”
74% boys · 26% girls
Callan
“one who is powerful in battle” · “a talkative woman”
95% boys · 5% girls
Kian
“from an ancient family”
>99% boys
Kieran
“having dark features; the little dark one”
97% boys · 3% girls
Callahan
Callahan is a masculine given name from Irish.
90% boys · 10% girls
Sullivan
“having dark eyes”
91% boys · 9% girls