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Early Origins of the House family

The surname House was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where the family has been a prominent family for centuries, and held a family seat with lands and manor. The family were well established in the region of Calvados and several members of the family distinguished themselves through their contributions toward the community in which they lived and were rewarded with lands, titles and letters patent confirming their nobility.

Early History of the House family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our House research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early House History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

House Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: House, Houssay, Housset, La Houssay, La Housset, La House, Du Houssay, Du Houssaye, Houssaye, de la Houssaye, Housset, Houssoye, Haussoye, Hausset, LaHauss and many more.

Early Notables of the House family

Notable amongst the family in this period was

  • the Lahouse family of Normandy

House Ranking

In the United States, the name House is the 688th most popular surname with an estimated 42,279 people with that name. 1 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name House is ranked the 119th most popular surname with an estimated 300 people with that name. 2


United States House migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

House Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Samuel House, who arrived in New England in 1633 3
  • John House, who arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1644 3
  • Edw House, who landed in Virginia in 1650 3
  • Jane House, who arrived in Virginia in 1652 3
  • William House, who arrived in Virginia in 1652 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
House Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • James House, who landed in Virginia in 1704 3
  • Johannes House, who landed in New York in 1721 3
  • John Peter House, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1772 3
House Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Cornelius House, who arrived in New York in 1834 3
  • George House, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1835 3
  • Robert House, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 3
  • W house, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1855 3
  • Christian House, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1860 3

Canada House migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

House Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • William House, who settled in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1706 4
  • Private. Daniel House U.E. who settled in Clinton Township [Lincoln], Home District, Ontario c. 1784 he served in the Butler's Rangers as a Drummer 5
  • Mr. Frederick House U.E. who settled in Home District [York County], Ontario c. 1784 5
  • Private. George House U.E. born in Canajoharie, Mohawk Valley, New York, USA who settled in Willoughby [Regional Municipality of Niagara], Home District, Ontario c. 1784 he enlisted in 1777 in the Indian Department, Butler's Rangers under Walter Butler's Company 5
  • Private. Harmanus House U.E., "Harmonus, Hermanius, Hermanus" born in Canajoharie, Mohawk Valley, New York, USA from Sasquehanna Valley, USA who settled in Niagara, Ontario c. 1784, then in Clinton Township, Beamsville 1786, "Cave Springs Farm." he served in Butler's Rangers he died in 1822 in Clinton Township, Lincoln County, Ontario, married to Maria Margretha Walrad they had 13 children 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
House Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Daniel House, who landed in Canada in 1831

Australia House migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

House Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. James House, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Batavia" in October 1817, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
  • Mr. Jarvis House, (Charles), English labourer who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Dromedary" on 11th September 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1865 7
  • Mr. James House, English convict who was convicted in Somerset, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Caledonia" in 19th June 1822, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
  • Mr. Abraham House, British Convict who was convicted in Dorset, England for 7 years for machine breaking, transported aboard the "Eleanor" on 26th June 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
  • Mr. James House, English convict who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 2nd February 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand House migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

House Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Timothy House, aged 36, a farm labourer, who arrived in Hawkes Bay aboard the ship "Queen of the North" in 1874
  • Frank House, aged 23, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Avalanche" in 1875
  • Sarah House, aged 22, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Avalanche" in 1875
  • Maude House, aged 2, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Avalanche" in 1875
  • Caroline House, aged under 1, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Avalanche" in 1875
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

West Indies House migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 11
House Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Hester, Elizabeth, Rebecca, and Roger House, who all immigrated to Barbados in 1663

Contemporary Notables of the name House (post 1700) +

  • Jim House (1948-2018), American farmer and a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Arkansas
  • Major-General Edwin Jacob House (1895-1969), American Commanding General US Army Air Forces Tactical Center, Florida (1944-1945) 12
  • Henry Franklin House (1930-2005), American Major League Baseball player
  • Howard Payne House (b. 1908), American Physician, ear surgeon, considered to be the father of modern otology
  • Edward Mandell House (1858-1938), American diplomat, a close advisor of President Wilson
  • John Ford House (1827-1904), American lawyer and politician, member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee
  • Charles S. House, American Republican politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Manchester, 1941; Superior Court Judge in Connecticut, 1964 13
  • Charles M. House, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from California 34th District, 1986, 1988 13
  • C. P. House, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Washington, 1912 13
  • Arthur H. House, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Connecticut 6th District, 1984; Candidate for Connecticut State Senate 8th District, 2008 13
  • ... (Another 52 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

HMS Prince of Wales
  • Mr. Charles V House, British Telegraphist, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 14
RMS Titanic
  • Mr. William House (d. 1912), aged 38, English Saloon Steward from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 15
USS Arizona
  • Mr. Clem Raymond House, American Chief Water Tender Permanent from California, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 16


Suggested Readings for the name House +

  • House-Brown and Related Families: The Lineages of Charles Staver House (1908- ) and Virginia Brown (1911- ) Who Were Married August 5, 1938 by Charles Staver House.
  • The House Family Tree and Some of It's [sic] Branches by Ardis Phillips Rasperger.

  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
  3. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  4. Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
  5. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/batavia
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dromedary
  8. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/caledonia
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eleanor
  10. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  12. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, March 30) Edwin House. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/House/Edwin_Jacob/USA.html
  13. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  14. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
  15. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html
  16. Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html


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