Explore the Family Name Bowell

The meaning of Bowell

English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Bouelles in Seine-Maritime, France, so named with Old Norman French boelle ‘enclosure, dwelling’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Bowell in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Bowell has seen a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 40,761 with a count of 505 people bearing the surname. By 2010, this rank dropped to 42,308 with a count of 513 individuals. Despite the increase in the number of people named Bowell, the proportion per 100k decreased by 10.53%, indicating that while the count increased, the overall population growth outpaced the growth of people with the Bowell surname.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#40,761	#42,308	-3.8%
Count	505	513	1.58%
Proportion per 100k	0.19	0.17	-10.53%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Bowell

The Decennial U.S. Census data also provides insights into the ethnic identity of individuals with the surname Bowell. Between 2000 and 2010, the majority of people with this surname identified as White, although this percentage decreased from 85.74% to 82.85%. The data shows a notable increase in the Hispanic population, rising by 50.84% during this time period. Additionally, there has been a slight decrease in those identifying as Black, from 9.31% to 8.97%. Interestingly, the Census data revealed no individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native, while the percentage of people identifying as two or more races appeared for the first time in 2010 at 2.34%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	85.74%	82.85%	-3.37%
Black	9.31%	8.97%	-3.65%
Hispanic	2.97%	4.48%	50.84%
Two or More Races	0%	2.34%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.99%	0%	0%