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Bow Family History

Bow Name Meaning

Scottish and English: habitational name from any of various minor places called with Old English boga ‘bow arch vault’ i.e. an arched bridge. There are places so called in Midlothian Middlesex and Devon. Irish and English: variant of Bowes . Chinese: possibly from Cantonese form of the Chinese names 寶 (meaning ‘treasure’) or 保 (meaning ‘protect’) which were monosyllabic personal names or part of disyllabic personal names of some early Chinese immigrants in the US. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surnames 包 and 鮑 see Bao 1 and

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Box, Low, Brow, Bos, Boe, Bon, Dow, Rowe, Bo, Bone

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Bow family from?

You can see how Bow families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Bow family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Bow families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 87 Bow families living in London. This was about 20% of all the recorded Bow's in United Kingdom. London had the highest population of Bow families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Bow surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Bow ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Bow. 28% of Bow men worked as a General Labourer and 76% of Bow women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Bow were Painters Labourer and Domestic Duties. .

View Census Data for Bow | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1939

  • General Labourer
    28%
  • Retired
    17%
  • Motor Engineer
    12%
  • Painters Labourer
    12%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    76%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    4%
  • Incapacitated
    4%
  • Domestic Duties
    3%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Bow family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 33,000 census records available for the last name Bow. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Bow census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Bow

Passenger Lists

There are 7,000 immigration records available for the last name Bow. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Bow immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 7,000 military records available for the last name Bow. For the veterans among your Bow ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Bow lifespan?

Between 1944 and 2003, in the United States, Bow life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1958, and highest in 1999. The average life expectancy for Bow in 1944 was 36, and 80 in 2003.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Bow

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