Bower Family History

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Bower Name Meaning

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


Similar surnames: Gower, Tower, Power, Mower, Bowler, Boger, Boyer, Bowes, Lower, Boler

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Bower Ethnicity Estimate

What are the common regions with the Bower name?

These results combine data from everyone in the AncestryDNA® database with the last name Bower. The Ancestry® ethnicity regions shown are top five most common on average for these people.

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  • England & Wales

    51%

  • Ireland & Scotland

    18%

  • Germanic Europe

    11%

  • Norway

    3%

  • Eastern Europe & Russia

    3%

Your own DNA-based ethnicity estimate will differ from what you see here. To get your personalized ethnicity estimate, order an AncestryDNA® kit.order an AncestryDNA® kit.

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Bower Family Origin

Where is the Bower family from?

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You can see how Bower families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Bower family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Bower families were found in the USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 2,191 Bower families living in Yorkshire. This was about 38% of all the recorded Bower's in the UK. Yorkshire had the highest population of Bower families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Bower surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Bower

Bower Family Occupations

What did your Bower ancestors do for a living?

In 1881, Farmer, Stone Mason and Coal Miner were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Bower. The most common Bower occupation in the UK was Farmer. 5% of Bower's were Farmers. A less common occupation for the Bower family was Annuitant.

View Census data for Bower | Data not to scale

  • Farmer

    5%

  • Stone Mason

    4%

  • Coal Miner

    4%

  • Annuitant

    2%

Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Bower ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

Bower Historical Records

What Bower family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 265,000 census records available for the last name Bower. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Bower census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search 1891 UK census records for Bower

Passenger List

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

Draft Card

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

View all Bower military records

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Bower Life Expectancy

What is the average Bower lifespan?

Between 1943 and 2004, in the United States, Bower life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1944, and highest in 2004. The average life expectancy for Bower in 1943 was 39, and 77 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Bower

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Bower ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

Famous Bower Family Ancestors

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