If pronounced BOY-YAY, and of French/Norman-French origin, than yes I would say this is the etymology. If looking at an English source I would still say Bowyer "bowmaker." The French word for archer IS archer, though pronounced ARR-SHAY.

And now, a note on what I actually meant by De-Anglicisation of names.

The first nations the English/Normans/Anglo-Normans (whatever you choose to call them) decided to conquer were the Celtic nations. At first, the invaders were generally assimilated into the native population. This was particularly true in Ireland which lead to the phrase "More Irish than the Irish themselves" regarding the Normans who lived there. This was not quite the case in Scotland. While Gaelic was, for a time, the primary language of Scotland, it quickly gave way to Anglic languages and was pushed northwest to the Highland line. The Lowlanders and Highlanders largely regarded each other as separate people. This did not mean that they didn't influence each other. It does, however, mean that Scottish Gaelic was under pressure and in decline before Scotland was even part of the U.K.

In time, these Celtic lands were eventually conquered completely. (Scotland, many would say, technically wasn't. It joined England/Wales through the Act of Union in 1707. I won't bother debating this point as it will inevitably open a HUGE can of worms!) Naturally, the conquerors demanded that the conquered learn their language and adopt their customs. Such is almost always the case in human history. For the natives, there was also a practical need to learn English. Thus, some chose to anglicise their names to assimilate, while others had their name forcibly changed. This was a systematic attempt to destroy a culture. I'm not blaming anyone today, nor am I deliberately trying to make a politically charged statement. It's a simple fact of history, I'm afraid.

So, when I meant De-Anglicisation, I meant taking a name that had its roots based in the Gaelic language (whether Irish or Scottish, or even Manx) and reverting it to its original form, bypassing the myriad of anglicisations and mispellings that later occurred. This would also include names which, although not originally Gaelic in origin, were well established (and assimilated) during the Gaelic period of these nations. The Gaelic badge was cultural not ethnic, and once someone was assimilated into their culture he or she was considered one of them. This was especially true of the Norse and Normans.

To a lesser extent, I studied the effect of Anglicisation on Cornish and Welsh naming practices, as well as the Gallicisation(?) of Breton names. Unfortunately, there is much less written about this than there is on the Gaelic languages.

I'm happy with the response I've gotten from this thread and I'm glad that what I have learned has been of use to others. Whatever one may think, wearing the kilt is a promotion of Gaelic culture to some extent, and it would benefit us all to learn something of that culture in case it disappears forever.

So, enough with the soapbox. Bring on more names!