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Bowden Family History

Bowden Name Meaning

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 . 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). Scottish: habitational name from Bowden in Roxburghshire named from Old English bōthl ‘dwelling-house’ + Old English denu ‘valley’. Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Buadáin ‘descendant of Buadán’ an Old Irish personal name of uncertain etymology. English: variant of Bawden .

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


Similar surnames: Howden, Cowden, Boden, Bogdan, Burden, Rowden, Bowes, Dowden, Borden

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Where is the Bowden family from?

You can see how Bowden families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Bowden family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Bowden families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1891 there were 1,632 Bowden families living in Devon. This was about 19% of all the recorded Bowden's in United Kingdom. Devon had the highest population of Bowden families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Bowden surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Bowden 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 Bowden. 10% of Bowden men worked as a General Labourer and 68% of Bowden women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Bowden were Carpenter and Private Means. .

View Census Data for Bowden | 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
    10%
  • Farmer
    4%
  • Incapacitated
    3%
  • Carpenter
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    68%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    3%
  • Housewife
    3%
  • Private Means
    2%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Bowden family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 259,000 census records available for the last name Bowden. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Bowden census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Bowden

Passenger Lists

There are 25,000 immigration records available for the last name Bowden. 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.

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Draft Cards

There are 31,000 military records available for the last name Bowden. For the veterans among your Bowden ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Bowden lifespan?

Between 1943 and 2004, in the United States, Bowden life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1951, and highest in 2001. The average life expectancy for Bowden in 1943 was 50, and 73 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Bowden

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