HOWE
Howe is a surname of English origin, found predominantly within the British Isles. The name is recorded in a variety of spellings, including How, Howes, Howse, Hoe and Hoo, and rare diminutives such as Howan, Howen and Howin. The most common variations are thought to preserve the original element of the name.
Its linguistic root is the Old Norse word haugr, which means “hill” or “mound”. In England, the word was adopted into place‑name and surname usage, often to describe a person who dwelt near an artificial hill or burial mound, or by a small hill or hollow. The Old English word hoh or a Scandinavian form of the same meaning may also have contributed to the surname’s formation.
As a locational surname it derives from settlements named Howe, for example in Norfolk and West Yorkshire, signifying a person who lived at or near such a place. In other instances it is purely topographical, referring to a person situated by a man‑made mound or barrow, a feature common in medieval English landscape.
The earliest recorded spelling of the family name appears as de Ho in the Danel Law Feudal Documents of 1121, during the reign of King Stephen of England. Subsequent medieval records include Marjorie de Howes in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1167 for Leicestershire and Robert atte Hou in a place‑name inventory of Yorkshire in 1333. Church registers also contain references such as Helen Howe, who married William Powncett at St. Leonard Eastcheap in London on 16 January 1550, and Mary Howen, a widow of Stoke on Trent, who married William Smith on 1 December 1771. These documents confirm the name’s continued use from the twelfth through the eighteenth centuries.
There is also a traceable possibility that in certain cases the surname evolved from the French personal name Hue, introduced to the British Isles by the Norman French after the conquest of England in 1066. However, the predominance of Old Norse and Old English linguistic evidence suggests that the majority of bearers of the name are of native English origin.
The surname Howe remains common in contemporary England, especially in areas that historically contained many burial mounds or small hills. Its persistence reflects the enduring significance of geographical features in the formation of English surnames and the lasting influence of Norse linguistic heritage in the British Isles.
Typical given names associated with the Howe surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- Stephen
Female
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Joanne
- Julie
- Linda
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Rebecca
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Howe in...
Braille
⠓⠕⠺⠑
Morse
....---.--.
Semaphore
Did you know?
According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Howe are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Fig roll.
There are approximately 24,682 people named Howe in the UK. That makes it the 333rd most common surname in Britain. Around 379 in a million people in Britain are named Howe.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Howe
- Eddie Howe - Football player and manager
- William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe - General in the American War of Independence (1729 to 1814)
- Geoffrey Howe - Conservative politician (1926 to 2015)
- Brian Howe - Singer
- Virgil Howe - Musician (1975 to 2017)
- Darcus Howe - Broadcaster and activist (1943 to 2017)
- Don Howe - Football player and manager (1935 to 2015)
- Elspeth Howe, Baroness Howe of Idlicote - Peer
- Dylan Howe - Musician
- Rene Howe - Football player
- Tyrone Howe - Irish rugby union player
- Liam Howe - Musician
- Jack Howe - Football player and manager (1915 to 1987)
- Steve Howe - Guitarist
- Catherine Howe - Singer, songwriter, actor, TV presenter
- David J. Howe - Historian and writer
- Nigel Howe - Businessman
- Ernie Howe - Football player
- John Howe - Puritan theologian (1630 to 1705)
- Callum Howe - Football player
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.