Bowe
Usually an English surname from a house or inn marked by a bow sign, though in some cases it may be a shortened form of Rowe.
The #5,264 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 46,582 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Bowe is most often explained as a locative name meaning "at the bow"—that is, someone who lived by or at an inn, house, or other place marked with the sign of a bow, especially an archery bow. In older sources, the word is linked with Middle English bowe, "bow," and the name was treated as a sign-name. A secondary explanation in some surname works connects Bowe with Rowe, making it a short form of the personal name Roland/Rowland in some families.
History
Medieval records show forms such as atte Bowe, which fits the common English pattern of surnames formed from residence near a landmark or sign. The name appears in London records and elsewhere from the Middle Ages onward. Because Bowe can also overlap with the much commoner Rowe/Rowland tradition in some regions, not every family with the surname has the same origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley noted that a bow sign would have been especially plausible in the age when archery was a familiar part of everyday life.
From the historical record
“I geve thee eightene pence a day. And my bowe shalt thou here ; 4.nd over all the north countre 1 make thee chyfe rydere. — ' Adam Bell ' ; Percy's Reliques.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)