Wishlist
Menu
Cart
HouseofNames
Wishlist
Cart

Show ContentsHouston History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Product

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

4.9 Average Rating

In the mountains of Scotland's west coast and on the Hebrides islands, the ancestors of the Houston family were born. Their name comes from the medieval Scottish given name Hugh. Houston is a patronymic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. In general, patronyms were derived from either the first name of the father of the bearer, or from the names of famous religious and secular figures. By and large, surnames descending from one's father's name were the most common. The surname also came from the place called Houston, near Glasgow. In Old English, the name Houston, meant the settlement belonging to Hugh. 1

Early Origins of the Houston family

The surname Houston was first found in Renfrewshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù), a historic county of Scotland, today encompassing the Council Areas of Renfrew, East Renfrewshire, and Iverclyde, in the Strathclyde region of southwestern Scotland, where they were descended from a Scottish knight, Hugh de Paduinan, who in 1165 founded the town of Houston in that shire.

"The ancient family of Houston originally bore the name of Paduinan, from a place of that name in Lanarkshire. In the reign of Malcolm IV Baldwin de Bigre gave the lands of Kilpeter to Hugh de Paduinan, who appears as a witness to the foundation charter of the Abbey of Paisley between 1165-1173." 2

Early History of the Houston family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Houston research. Another 323 words (23 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1341, 1406, 1415, 1435, 1460, 1525, 1527, 1550, 1601, 1605, 1650, 1662, 1688, 1696, 1730 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Houston History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Houston Spelling Variations

In various documents Houston has been spelled Since medieval scribes still spelled according to sound, records from that era contain an enormous number of spelling variations. Houston, Houstown, Huston, Hueston, Hughston, Hughstone, Houstone, Houstowne, Houstoun, Huestoun, Huestown, Huestowne, Hughstoun, Hughstown, Hughstowne, MacHouston, MacHuston, MacCuiston, McCuiston and many more.

Early Notables of the Houston family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

  • Sir Ludovick (or Louis) Houstoun of that Ilk (d.1662); Sir Patrick Houstoun of that Ilk, 1st Baronet, (d.1696); Sir John Houstoun of that Ilk, 2nd Baronet, Member of Parliament for Renfrewshire; and S...

Houston World Ranking

In the United States, the name Houston is the 434th most popular surname with an estimated 64,662 people with that name. 3 However, in New Zealand, the name Houston is ranked the 735th most popular surname with an estimated 980 people with that name. 4 And in the United Kingdom, the name Houston is the 778th popular surname with an estimated 8,707 people with that name. 5

Ireland Migration of the Houston family to Ireland

Some of the Houston family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 101 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

United States Houston migration to the United States +

The descendants of the Dalriadan families who made the great crossing of the Atlantic still dot communities along the east coast of the United States and Canada. In the American War of Independence, many of the settlers traveled north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Clan societies and highland games have allowed Canadian and American families of Scottish descent to recover much of their lost heritage. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Houston or a variant listed above include:

Houston Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Robert Houston, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1719 6
  • Patrick Houston, who arrived in Savanna(h), Georgia in 1727 6
  • Alexander Houston, who settled in Grenada in 1776
Houston Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Francis Houston, aged 20, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1803 6
  • Alexander Houston, aged 45, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1803 6
  • Archibald Houston, who arrived in New York, NY in 1812 6
  • Arm Houston, who landed in New York, NY in 1812 6
  • Rebecca Houston, who landed in New York, NY in 1812 6
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Houston migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Houston Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • John Houston, who settled in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1803 7
  • Mary Houston, aged 24, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Protector" in 1834
  • Jane Houston, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1848
  • Daniel Houston, who settled in Outer Cove, Newfoundland, in 1871 7

Australia Houston migration to Australia +

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

Houston Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Elizabeth Houston, Scottish convict from Edinburgh, who was transported aboard the "Amphitrite" on August 21, 1833, settling in New South Wales, Australia 8
  • Elizabeth Houston, Scottish convict from Glasgow, who was transported aboard the "Amphitrite" on August 21, 1833, settling in New South Wales, Australia 8
  • Miss Elizabeth Houston, (Cameron), Scottish Convict who was convicted in Edinburgh, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Atwick" on 28 September 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
  • James Houston, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Dauntless" in 1840 10
  • Matthew Houston, aged 39, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "William Money" in 1849 11
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Houston 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:

Houston Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Houston, Australian settler travelling from Sydney aboard the ship "Diana" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 11th July 1840 12
  • Mrs. Houston, Australian settler travelling from Sydney aboard the ship "Diana" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 11th July 1840 12
  • Miss Margaret Houston, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Sevilla" arriving in Bluff, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 4th September 1864 13
  • Thomas Houston, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Armstrong" in 1865
  • William Houston, aged 24, a carpenter, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "India" in 1875 12
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Houston (post 1700) +

  • Thelma Houston (b. 1946), American R&B and dance music singer
  • Joe Houston (1926-2015), American tenor saxophonist who played jazz and rhythm and blues
  • Whitney Houston (1963-2012), American R&B/pop singer, recipient of 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards and 22 American Music Awards selling over 55 million records in the US
  • Walter Scott Houston (1912-1993), American popularizer of amateur astronomy
  • Charles Snead Houston (1913-2009), American physician, mountaineer, high-altitude investigator, inventor, author, film-maker, and former Peace Corps administrator
  • Felix Houston, American politician, U.S. Attorney for Mississippi, 1828-30 14
  • David Franklin Houston (1866-1940), American politician, Secretary of Agriculture, 1913-20; U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, 1920-21 14
  • Claudius H. Houston, American Republican politician, Chairman of Republican National Committee, 1929-30 14
  • C. S. Houston, American Republican politician, Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives from Wayne County 1st District, 1938, 1940, 1942 14
  • Byron D. Houston, American Republican politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Mansfield; Elected 1926 14
  • ... (Another 51 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
HMAS Sydney II
HMS Prince of Wales
  • Mr. William E Houston, British Chief Petty Officer, who sailed on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) prior to its sinking due to being wounded in action 16
RMS Lusitania
  • Mr. Frank Houston, American 3rd Class passenger from Auburn, Alabama, USA, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 17

Suggested Readings for the name Houston +

  • The History of John Huson From North Carolina to Alabama, His Huson/Huston/Houston Descendants, and the Allied Pioneer Families of Clepper, Robinson, Deen and Gilmore by Margaratte Hall Wood.
  • Ancestry and Descendants of Stephen Greene and Marthe Mifflin Houston, His Wife by Walter Lee Sheppard.
  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  5. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  6. 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)
  7. Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
  8. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Amphitrite voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1833 with 99 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/amphitrite/1833
  9. Convict Records of Australia. Retreived 23rd August 2020 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atwick
  10. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) DAUNTLESS 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Dauntless.htm
  11. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) "WILLIAM MONEY" 1848-49. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849WmMoney.htm
  12. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  13. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  14. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  15. HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp
  16. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
  17. Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/
Houseofnames.com on Facebook