Bowden Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Bowden last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Bowden last name
Meaning of the Bowden last name: hill place. Bowden is an English surname for a family from one of several places called Bowden, in Devon, Leicestershire and elsewhere, names built on Old English dūn, "hill". The last name is especially common in Devon and Cornwall. Curiously, the same word dūn survives in the rolling chalk Downs of southern England.
Arms associated with the Bowden name
In English heraldry, coats of arms associated with the Bowden name are described in a blazon, a short formal text.
Get your full Bowden family history
This is only a glimpse of the Bowden story. The full Bowden history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Bowden coat of arms. Get the full Bowden report.
Bowden name FAQ
What does the Bowden name mean?
Hill place. Common variants include Bowdon, Boden.
Where does the Bowden surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Australia and Canada.
Is there a Bowden coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Bowden coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Eilert Ekwall, Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).