Hou
A surname of several possible origins, often linked to a place-name meaning a hill, mound, or hollow.
The #7,395 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 68,610 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name Hou is short and historically tricky, and the old surname books do not agree on a single source. In English records it may reflect a local name related to Old English or northern dialect words for a hill, mound, or hollow place; in other cases it may be connected with Dutch names such as Hou or Huy(e), especially in immigrant families. Because the form is very brief, it can also be a reduced spelling of a longer name in some lines of descent.
History
The excerpts point to at least one early Dutch bearer, Jacques Hoste, whose surname was later anglicized in Britain, showing that some Hou/Hoy forms entered English usage through migration. The same spelling also overlaps with English place-name surnames and with Norse-derived local names found in northern Britain, so the modern surname may have multiple independent origins. As a result, family history needs to be checked branch by branch rather than assumed from spelling alone.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Hou is so short, a single spelling can conceal several unrelated family origins in historical records.
From the historical record
“HOU 164 HOY HOSTE. The ancestor of tlie baronet was Jacques Hostc, who was driven out of the Netherlands in 15G9, by the persecutions”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom