Bowen is a Welsh surname, an anglicized form of ab Owain, and means "son of Owen"; Owen in turn is usually traced to the Latin Eugenius, "well-born" or "noble". It joined the parade of surnames turned first names in the 2010s, with the friendly nickname Bo built in. Bowen entered the US top 1000 in 2011, rose from number 517 in 2015 to number 266 among boys' names in 2025, its best rank so far.