There are no surviving censuses in Ireland prior to 1901, though there are "census substitutes" that were carried out by county. We plan to chart the frequency of our surname variants by county in 1901 and 1911.
The 1901 and 1911 data are now online for all counties at the National Archives. A contributor relates:
Basically what it shows is that the clans and their area of settlement remained remarkably stable up 'till the 20th century.... for example 40% of people with the surname of O'Toole could still be found in 1911 in Wicklow (their ancestral heartland).
View full table for Bowe (.pdf) View full table for Bowes (.pdf)
[1]
A chart of "Heads of Bowe and Bowes Households By County in 1911 Census" appears below discussion.
Locations and Relatedness
Comparing Bowe results (heavy in the south-central and southeast counties) and Bowes results (spread moreso throughout the country) suggests that many, if not most, Bowes in Ireland are not likely related to Bowe in Ireland. But then we know that from our DNA study.
At the same time we know of at least one family each in Kilkenny and Tipperary that used Bowe and Bowes variously, at least their name was recorded both ways. These families, in the DNA project, are not related. We can assume there were other such situations.
For both surnames in 1911, the individual's birthplace is usually the same as or very close to where they lived when the census was taken. With so many heads of households staying in the same place within their lifetime, it's reasonable to imagine that generations had before as well, and that these locations/families were generally the same over a number of generations.
Interestingly, a significant number of those with the Bowe name appearing–at the time of the census– in one of the counties with fewer Bowe-s had been born in the counties heavy with this surname, reinforcing the strong history of the Bowe name in south-central and southeastern Ireland. On the other hand, Bowes who were born elsewhere from where they appear in the census were either from the same counties heavy in the Bowe name, or, more than for Bowe, from elsewhere.
We still need to view this pattern in light of our DNA project showing different genetic lineages sharing the same name in the same area, such as in Kilkenny or southeast Ireland generally. Not all people sharing our surname in the same location are genetically related. Increasing participation in the DNA study by Bowe and Bowes families from south-central and southeastern Ireland will help further our understanding of this region.
Religion
Out of 93 Bowes households, 61 were Roman Catholic. The remaining were various non-Catholic denominations. This is consistent with the variety of family histories of the Bowes surname in Ireland; i.e., some having arrived from England at various points in time. In fact it's somewhat surprising to see so many Bowes in 1911 being Roman Catholic, suggesting long familial histories in Ireland -- perhaps pre-dating the Settlement and Plantation period -- whether anglicized Gaels (by name) or immigrants who acculturated over time to Irish ways. By comparison, all the Bowe households were Roman Catholic, suggesting -- possibly -- that none of the Bowe families from northern England emigrated to Ireland.
Heads of Bowe and Bowes Households By County in 1911 Census
* Will not include individuals by these names who live in a household headed by a different surname.
* A hyphen indicates 0 households.
BoweBowesBogueBoe
Antrim - 2 - 1
Armagh - 1 - -
Carlow 4 - - -
Cavan - 2 1 -
Cork 2 2 - -
Down - 5 - -
Dublin 9 23 3 -
Fermanagh - 8 16 -
Galway 1 12 - -
Kildare 1 - - -
Kilkenny 47 - - -
Kings Co./Offaly 4 1 - -
Leitrim - 3 - -
Limerick 1 2 1 -
Mayo 1 - - -
Monaghan - 5 4 -
Queens Co./Laois 44 6 - -
Sligo - 1 - -
Tipperary 19 10 1 -
Tyrone - 2 11 -
Waterford 10 - - -
Wexford 11 - - -
Wicklow - 6 - -
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1. Tyrone Bowes, PhD, Irish Origenes