Bowring is a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

origin. At the time of the British Census of 1881, Retrieved 25 January 2014 its relative frequency was highest in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

(36.5 times the British average), followed by

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

and

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. The name Bowring may refer to: * Arthur Bowring (1873–1944), American rancher and politician, husband of Eva Bowring *

Benjamin Bowring Benjamin Bowring (baptised 17 May 1778 – 1 June 1846) was an English watchmaker, jeweller, and businessman. He was the founder, in 1811, of the Bowring trading, shipping and insurance businesses, later known as Bowring Brothers in Canada and the ...

(1778–1846), English-Newfoundland businessman *

Charles Calvert Bowring Sir Charles Calvert Bowring (20 November 1872 – 13 June 1945) was a British colonial administrator, mainly in Kenya, who was later Governor and Commander in Chief of the Nyasaland Protectorate from 1923 to 1929. Early life Bowring was born i ...

(1872–1945), British colonial administrator (East Africa), son of J. C. Bowring * Charles R. Bowring (1840–1890), Newfoundland politician and merchant, grandson of Benjamin Bowring and brother of Sir William Bowring. *

Edgar Alfred Bowring Edgar Alfred Bowring (; 26 May 1826 – August 1911) was a British translator, author and civil servant, serving as a librarian and registrar to the Board of Trade (1848–1863), secretary to the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, and ...

(1826–1911), British translator and author, son of John Bowring *

Edgar Rennie Bowring Sir Edgar Rennie Bowring (17 August 1858 – 23 June 1943) was a Newfoundland businessman and politician. He was born in St. John's, Newfoundland the grandson of Benjamin Bowring and cousin of Charles R. Bowring. Between 1918 and 1922 h ...

(1858–1943), businessman and first high commissioner of Newfoundland, grandson of Benjamin Bowring and first cousin of Charles R. Bowring and William Bowring (1837–1918). *

Eva Bowring Eva Bowring (née Kelly; January 9, 1892January 8, 1985) was a U.S. Senator from Nebraska. Bowring was born in Nevada, Missouri. In 1928, she married Arthur Bowring. They made their home at the Bowring Ranch near Merriman in Cherry County, Neb ...

(1892–1985), American politician, wife of Arthur Bowring. *

Humphrey Bowring Admiral Humphrey Wykeham Bowring CB DSO (18 April 1874 – 21 February 1952) was a Royal Navy officer who became Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Scotland. Naval career Born the son of the industrialist John Charles Bowring, Bowring joined t ...

(1874–1952) – British admiral, son of J. C. Bowring *

John Bowring Sir John Bowring , or Phrayā Siam Mānukūlakicca Siammitra Mahāyaśa (17 October 1792 – 23 November 1872) was a British political economist, traveller, writer, literary translator, polyglot and the fourth Governor of Hong Kong. He was ...

(1792–1872), an English political economist and writer. Governor of

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

from 1854 to 1859. First cousin once removed of Benjamin Bowring * J. C. Bowring (1820–1893), the eldest son of John Bowring. *

Kevin Bowring Kevin Bowring (9 May 1954 – 10 October 2024) was a Welsh rugby union player and coach. Bowring attended Neath Grammar School for Boys. A flanker, he played for London Welsh and captained the team. He also represented the Barbarians and Middles ...

, former rugby union player and coach. *

Lewin Bentham Bowring Lewin Bentham Bowring (1824–1910) was a British Indian civil servant in British India who served as the Chief Commissioner of Mysore between 1862 and 1870. He was also an author and man of letters. Early life Bowring was born in 1824. He was ...

(1824–1910), son of John Bowring *

Richard Bowring Richard John Bowring (born 6 February 1947) is an English academic serving as Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Cambridge and an Honorary Fellow of Downing College. He was Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge, from 2000 to 2012. ...

(b. 1947), Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Cambridge *

Walter Andrew Bowring Walter Andrew Bowring, CBE (30 November 1875 – 3 November 1950) was a British colonial administrator. He was Administrator of Dominica from 1931 to 1933. Life and career The fifth son of J. C. Bowring, Walter Andrew Bowring was educated at Et ...

(1875 - 1950), British colonial administrator * Sir William Bowring (1837–1918), Liverpool, England politician and merchant, grandson of Benjamin Bowring and brother of Charles R. Bowring. *

William Bowring (cricketer) William Bowring (14 November 1874 at St John's, Newfoundland Colony – 12 August 1945 at Bay, St Michael, Barbados) was a West Indian cricketer who toured with the first West Indian touring side to England in 1900. He was educated at Sherborne an ...

(1874–1945), son of Charles R. Bowring The name is an

occupational name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

deriving from the pre-7th Century

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''bur'' meaning "a bower, a chamber", and ''ing'', in this context, "a friend" or "servant", one who looked after the "bower-chamber" in a lord or chief's house. Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. There are many developed spellings, all with essentially the same meaning, although some are common as surnames and these include: Bower, Bur, Bowerman, Borman, Bowra, Boorer, Burra, Bowring and Bowering. The surname was first recorded in the early 14th Century (see below), and other early recordings include: Mayfflin atte Bur (1280, Somerset); Gilbert atte Boure (1296, Sussex); Robert Boreman (1327, Sussex; and Walter Bowryng (1328, Somerset). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry Bouryng, which was dated 1302, in the "Pipe Rolls of Derbyshire", during the reign of King Edward I, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 – 1307.

References

See also