Bowen

Did you know?

A few things about Bowen you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Bowen

Bowen Yang

Chinese-American comedian

Choose Bowen and your child shares a first name with Bowen Yang, a Chinese-American comedian. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Bowen, like who?” Bowen Yang's Wikipedia article is available in 25 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Bowen Yang on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Andrew Lipovsky, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 1,322 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Bowen, 1,292 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Bowen would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryBowen first shows up in US birth records in 1913, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 112 years since.
• 🏆Best yearBowen is at its all-time high right now: #266 in 2025.
• 📈Then vs nowBowen is 13× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 16,920 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 1,322.
• 🚀TrendBowen has climbed 129 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #266. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedBowen is most popular in Idaho, where it ranks #125, followed by Mississippi (#126) and Louisiana (#127). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningIn Welsh, Bowen means “son of Owen”. Our records link it to Celtic Gaelic, Irish and Welsh roots.
• 🌍OriginBowen is the #2 most popular Celtic Gaelic boy name in the US. That's out of 115 Celtic Gaelic boy and unisex names in our list.

About the name Bowen

Bowen is a boy name of Celtic Gaelic, Irish and Welsh origin meaning “son of Owen”. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with B and ending in “-wen”. US birth records list Bowen for boys from 1913 to 2025, in 90 of those 113 years. Its best year was 2025, when it ranked #266 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #266, with 1,292 babies.

Origin:Celtic Gaelic namesIrish namesWelsh names