Bowers
Usually a place-based surname, originally meaning someone who lived near or worked at a bower or small dwelling, though it can also be linked to the plural of Bower.
The #511 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,678 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Bowers is generally treated as a surname from Middle English bower, meaning a chamber, dwelling, or sheltered place, with the -s often acting like a possessive or locative ending. In older surname collections it is glossed as “of the bower,” suggesting someone who lived by, worked in, or belonged to such a place. Some writers also connect it with related place-names, so the surname may have arisen independently in more than one locality.
History
Early records show forms such as Thomas le Bower in the 14th century, and the name later appears in English parish and tax records. It is especially common in England and became well established in later British and American usage. In some areas, Bowers may have developed as a variant or extension of Bower rather than from one single family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century surname dictionary explicitly tells readers to “see Bower” under Bowers, reflecting how closely the two names were treated.
From the historical record
“mider Borrer. BOWERS. See Bower. BOWES. A parish In Yorkshire, BOAVKER. The A- Sax. hue is a water- vessel, and ' to bouke ' in P. P]o^\^nan means to wash. We still call a great BOY 37”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom