Howes
A surname usually meaning “of the hills” or “from the mounds,” and sometimes taken as a patronymic form of Howe.
The #5,125 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 45,218 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Howes is generally understood as a plural or genitival form of Howe. In Middle English, a how or howe could mean a hill, mound, or raised place, from Old English hough/hoh with the same basic sense. So the name most likely began as a topographic surname for someone who lived by or on hills or mounds.
History
The surname is well attested in medieval English records, including forms such as del Howes, showing it was used to identify people by place of residence. In later centuries it remained established in England and spread to North America and other English-speaking regions. Some later surname handbooks also treat Howes as a variant or extension of Howe, which can blur the line between topographic and patronymic use.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old English hoh is the same word behind many English place-names containing Howe, a reminder of how often surnames grew from local landscape features.
From the historical record
“' Howe, Hewe, propyr name, Hugo ' : Prompt, Parv. (a) Local, 'of the howes.' How, a hill, a mound; cf. Silver How and Fox Ho w in the Lake district of England. 'Land! in the Howci, wliich iw had”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances