Haworth
A Yorkshire locative surname from Haworth, a place name meaning a settlement or enclosure by hawthorn trees.
The #6,714 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 61,381 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Haworth is a habitational surname from the village of Haworth in West Yorkshire. The place name is usually explained from Old English elements meaning a hawthorn tree or hawthorn enclosure, combined with a word for an enclosed settlement or homestead. In plain terms, it likely referred to a dwelling place marked by hawthorn bushes or a hedged enclosure.
History
The surname developed, as many English surnames did, from people who had moved from the village and were identified by their place of origin. It is strongly associated with Yorkshire, and the village became especially familiar through the Brontë sisters, who lived there. Later spellings and pronunciations could vary, but the name has remained recognizably tied to its northern English roots.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same place name is famously linked to the Brontë Parsonage at Haworth, one of the best-known literary sites in England.
From the historical record
“the life at the old house in which the seven brothers were brought up was an exceptionally full life. Crossing the Yorkshire moors, Burnley was not very far away from Haworth, the home of the Brontes. It was the curacy at Haworih which Mr. Bardsley had originally accepted when on the point of ordination. It was…”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instancesNotable people named Haworth
- Norman Haworth (1883–1950)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.