An English, Irish and Wales surname, the Bowen family name was originally a Celtic name of ‘ap Owain‘ which referred to the son of Owairl. A later form was the surname of Owen.

Spellings variations for Bowen include Bohan and Eoghan.

The counties of Angus and Lanarkshire in Scotland have the greater populations of Bowen families. In England, Bowen families settled mostly in the western regions like; Shropshire, Lancashire and Staffordshire. Many Bowen families live in southern Wales in the regions of Glamorgan, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Monmouthshire.

The states of Georgia, Illinois, California, Massachusetts, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania have the higher portion of Bowen families within the United States


Famous: John S. Bowen (Civil War Confederate general), John T. Bowen (identified a disease named Bowen’s Disease), Catherine Drinker Bowen (author and historian), Julie Bowen (actress), Edward George Bowen (English pioneer in the use of radar), George Bowen (rugby player from Wales), Mark Bowen (founder of Public Transportation Safety International), Ira S. Bowen (astronomer), Ryan Bowen (professional basketball player) and York Bowen (English music composer).