Howie
A surname that is most often explained as Scottish, either from a place-name or as a form of Hugh.
The #7,153 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 66,028 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Historical sources give more than one explanation for Howie. One says it may be a corruption of a French surname, Hauy; another links it to the Scots word howe, meaning a hollow or low-lying place. In Scottish name tradition it is also associated with forms related to Hugh/Hew, so the surname may in some cases have been reshaped from a personal name as well.
History
The name is especially associated with Scotland, and older writers note it in Renfrewshire. It appears in census and surname lists alongside other Scottish forms such as Howison and Howieson, suggesting a family-name cluster that has been spelled in several ways over time. Some modern bearers may descend from place-based lines, while others may reflect later spelling changes from Hugh-based surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books even note a local pronunciation in which Howie could sound like “Hewie’s son,” showing how flexible spelling and speech once were.
From the historical record
“shire, HOWIE. Supposed to be a corruption of the Fr. surname Hauy : another deriva- tion is from the Scot. Jiowe^ a hollow. HOWISON. The son of Hugh, Hughie, or Hewie. The old Scot, mode of spelling Hugh was Hew, as especially in the family of Dalrymple. In Renfrewshire, where the surname abounds, it is pronounced…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom