Fun Facts About the Name Bowden
- 656 babies named Bowden: U.S. records list 656 babies given the name Bowden from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Bowden Mean?
Bowden is an English name taken from one or more places, and its usual meaning is "curved hill" or "bow-shaped hill." It comes from Old English boga, "bow" or "arch," joined to dūn, "hill." A rounded rise in the land would have given a settlement that name, and the surname was later taken by people who lived at or came from such a place.
Some reference works give a different second element: Old English denu, "valley," which would make the name "bow-shaped valley." Both dūn and denu are common in English place names and both describe landforms, so the two explanations are sometimes listed side by side, and the origin at any one settlement may differ. The "hill" derivation is the one more often cited.
The sense of the name is topographical rather than symbolic. Bowden is not related to similar-sounding surnames of separate origin, such as Bawden, which is Cornish.
Bowden Name History & Origins
Bowden started as a place name and became a surname in the medieval period, when English and Scottish families increasingly took second names from the villages they lived in or held. Places called Bowden or Bowdon are found in several locations, among them Bowdon in Greater Manchester (historically part of Cheshire) and Bowden in the Scottish Borders near Melrose, which gave its name to a parish and its church.
The surname appears in records from the Middle Ages onward in England and Scotland, with concentrations in the southwest of England, in Cheshire, and in the Borders. The spelling Bowdon belongs to the same place-name stock as Bowden and is best treated as a variant spelling rather than a different name.
As a first name, Bowden is a transferred use of the surname rather than a name with an independent history. It follows the wider English practice of turning surnames into given names, which became common in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
How Popular is the Name Bowden?
Bowden has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #1,944 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,944 | 79 | 0.0046% |
| 2024 | #2,595 | 51 | 0.0030% |
| 2023 | #2,738 | 47 | 0.0028% |
| 2022 | #3,283 | 36 | 0.0021% |
| 2021 | #3,077 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 2020 | #3,078 | 37 | 0.0021% |
| 2019 | #3,806 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 2018 | #3,455 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 2017 | #2,761 | 44 | 0.0024% |
| 2016 | #3,449 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 2015 | #5,322 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2014 | #5,278 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2013 | #4,641 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2012 | #4,554 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2011 | #4,999 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2010 | #5,507 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2009 | #8,380 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2008 | #4,414 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 2007 | #5,021 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2006 | #6,511 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #5,603 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2004 | #6,184 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2003 | #9,725 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2002 | #7,725 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2001 | #10,761 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #10,552 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1995 | #7,908 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1976 | #5,692 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Bowden Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You can go to great heights and equally great depths. You are emotional and fixed in your opinions. You are hospitable, sentimental, often psychic, sometimes moody. You are ruled by love and the lack of it and feel a need to be encouraged and appreciated. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
You desire to inspire and lead, to control other's affairs. You are giving, courageous and bold, action oriented,energetic and strong willed. You want to make a difference in the world, and this attitude often attracts you to cultural interests, politics, social issues, and the cultivation of your creative talents.
✦ Bowden's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Bowden's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.