Named after St Mary's Church, Bow, which stands on an island in the middle of the road.
The church was licensed in 1311 as a chapel for the people of Stratford-at-Bow, who until then had to travel to St Dunstan's, Stepney – a hard journey in winter, when floods cut off the road. Bow itself is named after a bow-shaped bridge over the River Lea, built in the early 12th century.