Howd History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The family name Howd is one of the oldest Anglo-Saxon names of Britain. It was originally a name for a person who worked as a maker of hoods. The surname Howd is derived from the Old English words hod, hud, hood, and hodde, which all come from the Old English word hod, which means hood. 1 2

Occasionally, Howd may be a local surname derived from the settlement of Hood in Rattery in Devon. "In the poem 'Robin Hood(e) and Guy(e) of Gisborne' the name is variantly Hood and Hoode; but the form is Hode in 'A Lytell Geste [Story] of Robyn Hode.'" 3

"The leader of the Surrey men in A.D. 853 was named Huda (Anglo-Saxon Chron., s.a.)." 4

Early Origins of the Howd family

The surname Howd was first found in Devon where Osberus Hod was the first record of the name in the source Old English Bynames c. 1100-1130. In Cambridgeshire, Walter Hod was listed there c. 1200 and Gilbert Hodde was listed in the Assize Rolls for Somerset in 1225. Robert Hood (Hod) was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1230 and Philip Hodde, Hudde was found in Canterbury in 1305. 5

In Somerset, John Hod was listed there 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign.) 6 The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included the name in a compound forms: Matilda Hud-doghter and Emma Hud-wyf. 7

In Scotland, "a composition between Andrew, bishop of Moray and Robert Hude (or Hod) relating to the manor of Lamanbrid was made in 1225. Robertus Hud of Leth (Leith), witness in an Inchcolm charter c. 1220-26. Robertus Hod received a payment from the sheriff of Aberdeen, 1264." 4

Early History of the Howd family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Howd research. Another 256 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1220, 1264, 1320, 1332, 1447, 1467, 1524, 1567, 1573, 1582, 1598, 1668, 1689, 1724, 1752, 1758, 1762, 1798, 1814, 1816 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Howd History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Howd Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Howd include Hood, Hoods, Hude, Hud, Hudd, Hode, Hoode and others.

Early Notables of the Howd family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Thomas Hood (fl. 1582-1598), the English mathematician, son of Thomas Hood, a merchant tailor of London, entered Merchant Taylors' School 7 Nov. 1567, and matriculated at Cambridge as a pensioner of Trinity College in November 1573. 8 Paul Hood D.D. (died 1668), was an English academic administrator at the University of Oxford. Viscount Samuel...
Another 61 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Howd Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Howd family to Ireland

Some of the Howd family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Howd migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Howd Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Anthony Howd, who arrived in Maryland in 1663 9

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
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)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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)