Bowden is an English surname and place name from Old English, usually explained as "curved hill" or "bow-shaped hill", from boga, a bow, and dun, a hill. It fits the current American taste for two-syllable surname names such as Bowen, Holden and Braden, with the friendly nickname Bo built in. Bowden ranked number 10553 in 2000, number 2603 in 2024 and reaches number 1944 in 2025, its best rank so far.