Is Bowie a boy or girl name?

Bowie is a unisex name. Of the 3,520 Americans recorded with the name since 1880, 36.5% were girls and 63.5% were boys. It changed hands in 2014, and has gone mainly to boys since.

Name Legacy

Bowie

Recorded 1920–2025 · United States

Bowie was most popular in 2021, when 375 American babies were given the name — ranking #1,449 that year. In 2025 it ranked #1,769, with 281 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 3,520 people named Bowie.

Bowie over time

Births per year. The dot marks Bowie’s peak in 2021. Gaps are years the SSA suppressed, which it does for any name given to fewer than five babies.

Is Bowie a boy’s or a girl’s name?

Across the whole record Bowie is a unisex name — 36.5% of the 3,520 Americans given it were girls and 63.5% were boys. It changed hands: since 2014 it has gone mainly to boys, having gone mainly to girls before that. In births since 2016 it is 38% girls and 62% boys.

Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.

Names that peaked alongside Bowie

Where Bowie is most concentrated

How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.

Explore further

See Bowie on the interactive charts

Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org