One of 22 maps featured in
Business Insider showing the way words are pronounced differently in different parts of the United States.
Below the map there is this update from a Texan: "It's pronounced Boo-wie because it's named after
Jim Bowie (pronounced Boo-wie), who played a major roll in the Texas
revolution. That explains why we're the only ones who pronounce it
correctly."
The Texan is correct. The name Bowie--referring to either the man or the knife--have always properly been pronounced to rhyme with Louie, not Joey. It's a Scottish name and that's the correct pronunciation. The 1950s TV program "The Adventures of Jim Bowie" got it right in its
theme song.
I suspect the other pronunciation arose when the singer David Jones changed his name to David Bowie so as not to be confused with the lead singer of the Monkees.
