Origins of the Howe surname

What does the name Howe mean?

Howe is an English and Scottish surname with a number of supposed origins, most often found in Orkney and the North of England. One hypothesised origin of the Howe surname is geographic, from the Old English 'hol', meaning 'hollow' or 'dell'. Another has similar roots, but comes from the Old Norse 'haugr', meaning mound, knoll or hill.

Alternative variations of the name Howe

Howe, Howes, Hows, Howze, House, Howse, How

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Delve deeper into the Howe family's history

OrkneyShetlandHighlandsWestern IslesGrampianTaysideCentralStrathclydeFifeLothianBordersDumfriesNorth East 1696North West 300Isle of Man 4Yorkshire 1364East Midlands 420West Midlands 405East 984London 2568South East 1213South West 544South Wales 109Mid Wales 22West Wales 1North Wales 23Republic of IrelandNorthern Ireland

In 1921, most Howes lived in london

Census records trace your ancestors through each generation, so you can follow where your relatives lived through each decade.

24,000 Howe Travel & migration records
120,000 Howes found in all Census records

Interesting facts about Howe

How common is your surname?

346th most common surname in the UK

We have for the Howe surname. The oldest one dates back to 1539.

Who were Howes most likely to marry?

Our tell us which families married Howes.

What are the most common Howe first names?

John

William

Mary

Elizabeth

Our tell us the names of Howe family members
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Census records provide incredible detail on names, ages, marital statuses, occupations and more.

Common jobs for Howes

Men and women often performed different types of jobs, so these are displayed by gender to maintain their historical accuracy.

Commmon female occupations for Howes in 1921

Dressmaker

547

Laundress

308

General Servant Domestic

301

Domestic Servant

268

House Servant

211

Commmon male occupations for Howes in 1921

Agricultural Labourer

580

Coal Miner

466

General Labourer

441

Farm Labourer

345

Carpenter

267

We found over 330,000 family trees with the Howe surname

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