Howe
A surname with several roots, most often from a hill or mound, but sometimes from the old personal name Hugh.
The #820 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 7,305 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Howe is an old surname with more than one possible source. In northern English place-names and surnames, it can come from Old Norse haugr, meaning a mound, cairn, or hill; this is the explanation favored by some later surname dictionaries for local names like Howe. In other cases, especially in medieval records, it may be a shortened form of the personal name Hugh, via Middle English Hewe/Hew.
History
The name appears early in English records and is especially common in northern and eastern counties. Some bearers took the surname from a local feature or place-name, while others derived it from the given name Hugh. Because both forms were in use, Howe developed as a surname of mixed origin rather than a single family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same spelling can point either to a hilltop place-name or to a shortened medieval form of Hugh, so two unrelated families may share the surname Howe.
From the historical record
“Cbapp«Iow, Ch&pplow, Ohapelhow, Chaplow.— Local, 'at the chapel-how' (v. Howe). This rare sunuunc is found in the London Directory. It has travelled from the borders of Cumberland and Westmoreland. In the former”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances