The bowman Surname
bowman Name Meaning and History
- English and Scottish: occupational name for an archer, Middle English bow(e)man, bouman (from Old English boga ‘bow’ + mann ‘man’). This word was distinguished from Bowyer, which denoted a maker or seller of the articles. It is possible that in some cases the surname referred originally to someone who untangled wool with a bow. This process, which originated in Italy, became quite common in England in the 13th century. The vibrating string of a bow was worked into a pile of tangled wool, where its rapid vibrations separated the fibers, while still leaving them sufficiently entwined to produce a fine, soft yarn when spun.
- Americanized form of German Baumann (see Bauer) or the Dutch cognate Bouman.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Learn the meaning and history of your first name
Share this page with friends and family
14–Day Free Trial
Search for bowman records
More resources for your bowman family history
Bowman message board
Threads: 2002 - Messages: 4421
Start your FREE family tree. Who will you discover?
A family tree is the easiest way to start discovering your family history. To begin, just enter whatever you know and we'll use that to try and find more information for you.
Begin your family tree with your name:
The bowman name in History
A unique volume of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary following the bowman family name as far back in history as possible.
Member Connections
- Anonymously contact one of the Ancestry members researching the bowman last name.
- Search for Ancestry members researching one of your specific ancestors.
- Create or update your own Ancestry member profile so that other members can anonymously contact you.
- Find out how to get help from other Ancestry members through this tutorial.
More Tools and Resources
- Search Ancestry.co.uk for all of your bowman ancestors.
- Learn more about your family history using DNA Ancestry.
- Learn more about family history in the Ancestry Learning Center.
- Visit the Ancestry.co.uk homepage.