boy's name
Bowen
BOH-en
- Origin Welsh
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 16,242
the United States
#266
2025 births
Bowen is a boy's name of Welsh origin meaning "son of Owain". It contracts the Welsh ab Owain, where ab marks descent, and Owain is one of the oldest and most storied names in Wales. It is now used far beyond Wales as a first name.
- Bowen is a name of Welsh origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 1,328 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,496 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1913.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Bowen over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 32 |
| 1920s | 23 |
| 1930s | 20 |
| 1940s | 38 |
| 1950s | 54 |
| 1960s | 65 |
| 1970s | 93 |
| 1980s | 171 |
| 1990s | 545 |
| 2000s | 1,299 |
| 2010s | 5,209 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,964 |
What Bowen means
Bowen means son of Owain. The Welsh patronymic ab, a reduced form of mab meaning son, fused onto the following name to give a single word — the same process that produced Bevan from ab Evan and Price from ap Rhys.
Where Bowen comes from
Bowen comes from the Welsh ab Owain, son of Owain. Welsh naming did not use fixed surnames for most of its history: a man was identified by his father, so the patronymic changed each generation until English administration pressed families into inherited surnames from the sixteenth century onward, freezing whichever patronymic happened to be in use. Owain itself is old and much argued over, connected by some to the Latin Eugenius and by others to a native Celtic root; it belongs to Owain Glyndŵr, the last Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales. As a first name Bowen is modern and largely American.
Bowen in use
Bowen charts in six of the seven countries we track and reached its highest recorded use in 2025, the most recent year we hold.
How popular is Bowen?
In 2025, Bowen was given to 1,328 babies in the United States, ranking #266 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Bowen is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Bowen
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Bowen also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Bowen over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Bowen
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Bowen in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Bowen
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Bowen — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Bowen
What does the name Bowen mean?
Bowen means son of Owain, from the Welsh ab Owain.
Is Bowen a Welsh name?
Yes. It is a Welsh patronymic surname, formed the same way as Bevan from ab Evan and Price from ap Rhys.
How do you pronounce Bowen?
BOH-en, with the first syllable rhyming with go.
How popular is the name Bowen?
In 2025, Bowen was given to 1,328 babies in the United States, ranking #266 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Bowen a girl's or a boy's name?
Bowen is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Bowen?
Bowen has 2 syllables.
When was Bowen most popular?
Bowen peaked in 2025, when 1,328 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Bowen?
Bowen is usually shortened to Bo and Bow.
Is Bowen a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Bowen currently ranks #173 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.