Bowen

BO-un; PWAW-WUN

Welsh, Chinese

"son of Owen; wave of writing, wave of literature"

Bowen Origin and Meaning

The name Bowen is a boy's name of Welsh origin meaning "son of Owen; wave of writing, wave of literature".

Bowen is a Celtic surname representing two separate Celtic strains, one Welsh and one Irish, and entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2011.

Football Hall of Famer Drew Brees named his son Bowen, as did a recent reality show couple looking for the perfect name to 'brand' their baby. It does have the appealing nickname Bo.

Alternatively, this is also a Chinese name, combining Bo and Wen, in which case the meaning would be 'wave of writing" or "wave in literature".

Actor Bowen Yang is a notable bearer.

Bowen Rank in US Top 1000

# 321 in the US

Bowen Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 399 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Bowen

• 321 US 2024
• 399 Nameberry 2025
• 189 Canada 2023
• 258 Future 2028
• 490 England 2023

20 Names Similar to Bowen

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Bowen.

• Boden
• Sutton
• Thatcher
• Briggs
• Harlan
• Lane
• Barrett
• Porter
• Bridger
• Truett
• Grady
• Wells
• Waylon
• Bode
• Ledger
• Lennon
• Cullen
• Cohen
• Hayes
• Beck

Famous People Named Bowen

• Bowen Dow Stassforth American Olympic swimmer
• Bowen Lockwood Australian rules footballer
• Bowen Christopher Brees (b. 2010) son of football player Drew Brees
• Bowen Michael Stagliano (b. 2016) son of reality TV personality Michael Stagliano ("Bachelor Pad")
• Julie Bowen American actress

The name Bowen in Pop Culture

• Bowen Main character in 1996 film "Dragonheart"
• Bowen Ashby character in Lauren DeStefano's Chemical Garden trilogy
• Bowen Marsh character in the Game of Thrones series
• Bowen birth name of the Red Ranger from Power Rangers Mystic Force
• Tommy Bowen character on TV's "Haven"
• Carter Bowen character on TV's "Arrow"
• Carter Bowen character on TV's "American Gothic"