Given name & surname
Bowie
“a blonde-haired man”
Bowie is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “a blonde-haired man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “a blonde-haired man.”
Where it comes from
Bowie comes from Irish, and ultimately from Scottish Gaelic.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Irish Ó Buadhaigh, from Scottish Gaelic Mac 'Ille Bhuidh.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1920. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Bowie through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,520
- 2,235 boys · 1,285 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 375 babies
- 2025
- 281
- #1,228 for boys · #1,736 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +16%
- Rising
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 62% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 164 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,228 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 15.0% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 117 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (24). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,741 as a first name in 2020; 11,239 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.
Bowie’s family of names
Bowie has a related form in Bowea. Bowie has a related form in Bowee. Bowie has a related form in Bowey.
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 Bowie
- Bowie KuhnAmerican baseball commissioner (1926-2007)
- Bowie TsangTaiwanese and Hong Kong actress and singerborn 1973
- Bowie WuHong Kong male actor, programme host, and singerborn 1932
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Bowie, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Lennox
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Ellis
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Finley
“a fair-haired hero”
46% boys · 54% girls
Clancy
“red warrior” · “son of the red-haired warrior”
69% boys · 31% girls