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Show ContentsHowe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
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Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

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Howe is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived near a hill or steep ridge of land. The surname Howe is usually derived from the Old English word hoh, which means heel or projecting ridge of land. However, it is sometimes derived from the Old Norse word haugr, which means mound or hill.

Furthermore, the name Howe may be derived from a residence in one of the many similarly named places: Hoe is in Norfolk, Hoo is in Kent, places called Hooe are in Devon and Sussex, Hose is in Leicestershire, places named Heugh are in Durham and Northumberland, and settlements called Hough are found in both Cheshire and Derby.

Early Origins of the Howe family

The surname Howe was first found in Berkshire, where the name could also have been a baptismal name as in "son of Hugh," 1 while another reference claims the name has geographical significance as in the south: "a small round hill" and in the north: "a hollow place or plain." The medieval form of the name is "At How" and is usually synonymous with Hill, having derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "how," meaning "mountain." 2

However, we must look to Cambridgeshire to find the first listings on the name, where Roger del Howes and Richard del Howes were listed there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 1

"The church [of Withington, Gloucestershire] is a cruciform structure, principally in the Norman style, but partly of later date: among the monuments is a handsome one to the memory of Sir John How(e), his wife, and nine children, in a small cross aisle on the south side of the church, the burial-place of the family." 3

Early History of the Howe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Howe research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1607, 1611, 1625, 1627, 1631, 1632, 1635, 1644, 1648, 1650, 1654, 1656, 1657, 1659, 1660, 1671, 1673, 1676, 1679, 1685, 1689, 1691, 1692, 1700, 1701, 1713, 1722, 1732, 1733, 1735 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Howe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Howe Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Howe family name include Howe, Howes, How and others.

Early Notables of the Howe family

Notables of the family at this time include

  • Sir John Howe, 1st Baronet (died 1671), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1654 to 1656
  • John Grobham Howe (1625-1679), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1659 and 1679, Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire
  • Sir George Grobham Howe, 1st Baronet (c.1627-1676), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1676
  • Elizabeth Jackson Howe (c. 1635-1692), from Yorkshire, she was one of the accused in the Salem witch trials and executed
  • Josias Howe (c.1611-1701), English divine
  • John Grubham "Jack" Howe (1657-1722), an English politician

Howe World Ranking

In the United States, the name Howe is the 805th most popular surname with an estimated 37,305 people with that name. 4 However, in Canada, the name Howe is ranked the 752nd most popular surname with an estimated 7,098 people with that name. 5 And in Australia, the name Howe is the 423rd popular surname with an estimated 8,814 people with that name. 6 New Zealand ranks Howe as 487th with 1,399 people. 7 The United Kingdom ranks Howe as 343rd with 18,120 people. 8

Ireland Migration of the Howe family to Ireland

Some of the Howe family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

United States Howe migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Howe surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Howe Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Rice Howe, aged 26, who arrived in Virginia in 1618 aboard the ship "Gift" 9
  • Daniel Howe, who landed in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1634 9
  • Edward Howe, who landed in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1635 9
  • Isaac Howe, Ephraim Howe, Elizabeth Howe, Edward Howe, William Howe, and Sarah Howe, who settled in Boston in 1635
  • Sarah and William Howe, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1635
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Howe Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • David Howe, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1764 9
Howe Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • George Howe, who arrived in New York, NY in 1811 9
  • William Howe, aged 25, who landed in New York in 1812 9
  • Michael Howe, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1813 9
  • Eberh W Howe, who arrived in America in 1834 9
  • Otis Howe, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 9
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Howe Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Mr. John Howe, (b. 1883), aged 21, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "Teutonic" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 25th August 1904 en route to Butte, Montana, USA 10
  • Ralph Marcus Howe, who landed in Wisconsin in 1922 9

Canada Howe migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Howe Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Edward Howe, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
  • James Howe, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
  • Mr. John Howe U.E. (b. 1752) who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 he died in 1823 was a City Bellman 11
  • Mr. Nathaniel Howe U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 11
  • Mr. Stephen Howe U.E. who settled in New Brunswick c. 1784 member of the Cape Ann Association 11
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Howe Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Howe, aged 20, a tinman, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "Reward" from Cork, Ireland
  • Miss. Elizabeth Howe who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Sobraon" departing 8th May 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 29th June 1847 but she died on board 12
  • Mr. Thomas Howe, aged 1 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Sobraon" departing 8th May 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 29th June 1847 but he died on board 12

Australia Howe migration to Australia +

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

Howe Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Miss Margaret Howe, (b. 1778), aged 25, British Convict who was convicted in Surrey, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Experiment" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1837 13
  • Miss Catharine Howe, (b. 1802), aged 26, Irish farm servant who was convicted in Kilkenny, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "City of Edinburgh I" on 23rd June 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1862 14
  • Miss Catherine Howe, (Haw), (b. 1802), aged 26, Irish farm servant who was convicted in Kilkenny, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "City of Edinburgh I" on 23rd June 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1862 14
  • Mr. George Howe, (Kettle, James, George, Happy), (b. 1799), aged 30, English ploughman who was convicted in Surrey, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Bussorah Merchant" on 1st October 1829, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 15
  • Mr. John Howe, English convict who was convicted in Bristol, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Emperor Alexander"on 6th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 16
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Howe 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:

Howe Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Charles Howe, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1841 aboard the ship Clifton
  • John Howe, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1841 aboard the ship Clifton
  • William Howe, who landed in Nelson, New Zealand in 1842 aboard the ship Olympus
  • John Howe, aged 39, a brickmaker, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Clifton" in 1842
  • Elizabeth Howe, aged 39, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Clifton" in 1842
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

West Indies Howe 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. 17
Howe Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Edward Howe, who settled in Barbados in 1635
  • Mr. Edward Howe, (b. 1616), aged 19, British settler travelling from Gravesend, England aboard the ship "Falcon" arriving in Barbados in 1636 18
  • John Howe, who settled in Barbados in 1694

Contemporary Notables of the name Howe (post 1700) +

  • Mark Antony De Wolfe Howe Jr. (1864-1960), American editor and author, recipient of the 1925 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
  • Tina Howe (1937-2023), American playwright, her best known works include Museum, The Art of Dining, Painting Churches, Coastal Disturbances, and Pride's Crossing, granddaughter of Mark Antony De Wolfe Howe
  • Samuel P. "Sam" Howe III (1938-2022), American hardball squash player, winner of the US national singles title twice in 1962 and 1967, winner of six national doubles titles, inducted into the United States Squash Racquets Association Hall of Fame in 2002
  • Mike Howe (1965-2021), American heavy metal singer who performed with Metal Church, Heretic, and Snair
  • William Howe KB, PC (1729-1814), 5th Viscount Howe, British army officer, Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American War of Independence
  • Florence Rosenfeld Howe (1929-2020), American author, publisher, literary scholar and historian
  • Wallis Eastburn Howe (1868-1960), notable American architect from Rhode Island
  • James Wong Howe (1899-1976), American cinematographer nominated for ten Academy Awards for cinematography, winning twice; he worked on over 130 films
  • Richard Howe (1726-1799), British admiral known for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars, made 1st Earl Howe in 1788
  • Brigadier-General William Francis Howe (1888-1952), American Professor at Yale University (1943) 19
  • ... (Another 20 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Halifax Explosion
  • Miss Margaret  Howe (1911-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 20
  • Mr. Donald Scott  Howe (1875-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 20
  • Miss Mildred M.  Howe (1913-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 20
  • Mrs. Mildred  Howe (1895-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 20
  • Master Hanson David  Howe (1916-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 20
HMS Dorsetshire
  • Bill Howe, British aboard the HMS Dorsetshire (1945) when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he survived the sinking 21
  • Horace George Howe (d. 1945), British Ordinary Seaman aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 21
HMS Hood
  • Mr. Reginald E Howe (b. 1918), English Stoker 2nd Class serving for the Royal Navy from Poole, Dorestshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 22
HMS Repulse
  • Mr. Alfred Howe, British Stoker 2ne Class, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 23
  • Mr. John A Howe, British Blacksmith, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 23
HMS Royal Oak
  • Harry Howe, British Stoker with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he survived the sinking 24
Pemberton Mill
  • Mr. George Howe, factory worker in the Pemberton Mill on 10th January 1860 when the mill collapsed trapping 900 workers as rescue attempts continued into the night, an oil lantern was knocked over further engulfing the trapped workers in fire, he managed to escape as it collapsed
St. Francis Dam
  • Mr. Francis R. Howe, American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
USS Arizona
  • Mr. Darrell Robert Howe, American Seaman Second Class from Oregon, 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 25
  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  5. "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
  6. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  7. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  8. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  9. 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)
  10. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
  11. 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
  12. Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 80)
  13. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
  14. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 10th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/city-of-edinburgh-1
  15. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 10th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bussorah-merchant
  16. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emperor-alexander
  17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  18. Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 28th September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  19. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, March 30) William Howe. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Howe/William_Francis/USA.html
  20. Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance
  21. Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html
  22. H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
  23. HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html
  24. Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html
  25. 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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