Bowles Family Crest, Coat of Arms & Bowles Name Origin

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Origin of the Name Bowles

The origin of the name Bowles was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. This name is of English descent spreading to Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts in these countries. Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep a record of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired lands by either force or as gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their vassals. Variants of Bowles include Boler, Boaler, Bowle, Boule, Boules and Boal. In Ireland this is an old Kerry surname where we find the first recorded of the name being Maurice FitzMaurice le Fougheler being coroner of County Kerry in the year 1320. By the 16th century the name had become standardized as Bowler, Bowles and Bowdler and the Desmond survey of 1587 refers to Bowlerstown which is near Dingle the homeland of the family.