Explore the Family Name Bowden
The meaning of Bowden
1. English: habitational name from any of several places called Bowden or Bowdon. Bowden in Devon and Derbyshire and Bowdon in Cheshire are named with Old English boga ‘bow’ + dūn ‘hill’, i.e. ‘hill shaped like a bow’; one in Leicestershire (Bugedone in Domesday Book) comes, according to Ekwall, from the Old English personal name Būga (masculine) or Bucge (feminine) + dūn. There are also Scottish places of this name, but there are comparatively few bearers of the surname Bowden north of the border. In England, the surname is found most frequently in Lancashire and in the West Country. In Devon and Cornwall there has been some confusion with the Norman personal name Baldwin. 2. English: topographic name for someone who lived at the top of a hill, from Middle English buve dun ‘above the hill’ (Old English būfan dūne, as in the placename Bowden, Wiltshire). 3. Scottish: habitational name from Bowden in Roxburghshire, named from Old English bōthl ‘dwelling-house’ + Old English denu ‘valley’. 4. Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Buadáin ‘descendant of Buadán’, an Old Irish personal name of uncertain etymology. 5. English: variant of Bawden.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Bowden in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Bowden has seen a minor shift in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Bowden was ranked as the 1373rd most popular surname, but by 2010 it had slipped to the 1450th spot, indicating a decrease in popularity of 5.61%. However, the number of people bearing the surname increased from 23,677 in 2000 to 24,560 in 2010, an increase of 3.73%. The proportion of people with the surname Bowden per 100k also saw a slight decrease of 5.13% over the same period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,373 | #1,450 | -5.61% |
| Count | 23,677 | 24,560 | 3.73% |
| Proportion per 100k | 8.78 | 8.33 | -5.13% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Bowden
When examining the ethnic identity associated with the surname Bowden, there have been some notable changes between 2000 and 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. The percentage of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and those reporting two or more races saw an increase of 10.2% and 39.72%, respectively. Meanwhile, there was a significant rise of 56.69% among those identifying as Hispanic. On the other hand, the proportion of individuals identifying as White decreased slightly by 1.8%, and those identifying as Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native also saw small decreases of 0.75% and 2.22% respectively.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 74.63% | 73.29% | -1.8% |
| Black | 21.45% | 21.29% | -0.75% |
| Hispanic | 1.57% | 2.46% | 56.69% |
| Two or More Races | 1.41% | 1.97% | 39.72% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.49% | 0.54% | 10.2% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.45% | 0.44% | -2.22% |
Bowden ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Bowden is British & Irish, which comprises 56.8% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (19.5%) and Eastern European (3.8%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Nigerian, Spanish & Portuguese, Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean, and Italian.
Ready to learn more about your ancestry? Get the most comprehensive ancestry breakdown on the market by taking our DNA test. Shop 23andMe
| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 56.8% |
| French & German | 19.5% |
| Eastern European | 3.8% |
| Other | 19.9% |
Possible origins of the surname Bowden
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Bowden have recent ancestry locations all within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 83.00% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 83.00% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 82.60% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 82.40% |
| Lancashire, United Kingdom | 82.30% |
What Bowden haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Bowden is I-Z58, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-Z58 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include R-CTS241 and I-L1198, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Giles, White, Collins, Edwards, Thomas, Reed, Taylor, Saunders, Walker, Norman.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Bowden surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins I-M170
Your paternal lineage may be linked to Alexander Hamilton
Early in the morning on July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr (then Vice President of the United States) and Alexander Hamilton (founder of the U.S. Treasury) dueled on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. This marked the culmination of a bitter personal and political rivalry between the two men. Alexander Hamilton died as a result of the duel, but his intellectual legacy survives in the founding documents of the nation he helped build. A piece of his genetic legacy survives as well: in the 21st century, genealogists documented the paternal haplogroups of dozens of Hamilton's living descendants and concluded that the Founding Father's paternal haplogroup was a branch of I-DF29.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Bowden have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Bowden" Surname 47.1%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Bowden" Surname 30.9%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Bowden" Surname 21.6%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Bowden" Surname 18.9%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Bowden?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Bowden are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition