Bower Family History

Scottish: occupational name for a bow maker, Older Scots bowar, equivalent to English Bowyer. English and Scottish: from Middle English bur, bour ‘bower’, ‘cottage’, ‘inner room’ (Old English bur), hence a topographic name for someone who lived in a small cottage, an occupational name for a house servant who attended his master in his private quarters (see Bowerman), or a habitational name from any of various places, for example in Essex, named Bower or Bowers from this word.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press