It is named after the Welshman James Bowen (died 1629)[1] and is also called true lover's knot.

[2] Since the rope is not actually knotted, it would in topological terms be considered an unknot.

In Norwegian heraldry a Bowen knot is called a valknute (valknut) and the municipal coat of arms of Lødingen Municipality from 1984 has a femsløyfet valknute which means a Bowen knot with five loops.

The Bowen knot resembles the symbol ⌘ (looped square), which is used on Apple Keyboards as the symbol of the Command key.

However, the origin of this use is not related to the use of the Bowen knot in heraldic designs.