Bowie Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Bowie last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the Bowie coat of arms for you.
Meaning and origin of the Bowie last name
Meaning of the Bowie last name: fair-haired. Bowie is a Scottish surname from Gaelic buidhe, "yellow, fair-haired", a nickname for a fair man. It is common in Stirlingshire and Dumbartonshire. Jim Bowie died at the Alamo and gave his name to the Bowie knife, and David Bowie took this last name as a stage name.
Arms associated with the Bowie name
In Scottish heraldry, coats of arms associated with the Bowie name are personal, each with its own blazon.
Get your full Bowie family history
This is only a glimpse of the Bowie story. The full Bowie 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 Bowie coat of arms. Get the full Bowie report.
Bowie name FAQ
What does the Bowie name mean?
Fair-haired. Common variants include Buie, Bowey.
Where does the Bowie surname come from?
It originates in Scotland, and is also found in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Is there a Bowie coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Bowie coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: George F. Black, The Surnames of Scotland (New York Public Library, 1946); Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).