I have found three distinct explanations of the origin of the surname Bowles. While there seems to be some debate
about which is correct I assume that all three are essentially accurate and that all modern bearers of the name
(at least those of British descent) are descended from one of these lines. Note also that there are many variant
spellings including Boles, Boals, Bowls, Boyles and Boyle among others. Some of these variants may also exist
separately with another unrelated origin.
One originated in Wales from a word meaning small hill or mound. Another originated in pre-Norman England. It is
either Saxon, Norse or both. Some authorities claim Bowles to have been derived from the Saxon occupation
of its first bearer Boll-man or Steward. Others claim that the name was derived from the Norse BAULI, meaning "bull".
Still others claim it was from the Viking BOLLA, who is said to have arrived in England with the conquering Norsemen
in the ninth century. The third root is Norman, derived from one of the followers of William the Conqueror in 1066.
He was called BOLE, BOLLE, or BOUELLES and may have come from the town of Bouelles, in Normandy.
This name is found on ancient records in the various forms:BOLLA, BOLLE, BOEL, BOLLO, BOWLE, BOLLES,
BOWLS, BOOLES, BOLES and BOWLES, of which the last two are the forms most common today.
Families bearing this name were found at early dates in the English counties of:LINCOLN, KENT,
NOTTINGHAM, HEREFORD, HARTFORD, BERKSHIRE, WILTSHIRE, MIDDLESEX, SUFFOLK,
WARWICK, LEICESTER, NORTHAMPTON, STAFFORD, OXFORD and LONDON and were, for the most
part, of the landed gentry and nobility of Great Britain (perhaps a result of more extensive record keeping among the
upper classes). In more modern times the name is represented in all classes of British society.
Among the members of the Virginia Company in 1620 was Sir George BOWLES, the renowned Lord Mayor of
London. The first of the name known to emigrate to America was John BOWLES, said to have come from
England to Jamestown, Virginia, with Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Somers in 1610. He returned to England in
1612, sailing in the ship "George". In 1621, he came over again with Sir Francis Wyatt, who arrived in that year with
1200 planters. This John BOWLES owned a plantation on the east shores of Warwick Cove. His will, probated
July 1-1664, showed that he was a man of some landed wealth. He is believed to have had only one son, John.
John 3rd is said to have married a Welsh woman named Sarah Knight. Another tradition is to the effect that it was
John 1st who married Sarah Knight.
Gideon Bowles was born in Oxford, England in 1734 and came to America and settled in Goochland, Virginia with
his wife Charity Ann (Hughes) as part of the St. James Colony. The Bowles name figures prominently in Virginia
history especially in Goochland County. The name is still commonly found in Virginia and many branches of the
family elsewhere in the US can be traced there. Follow this link for some interesting detail on the US
Colonial Origins of the Bowles.