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Houck History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Houck History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

Etymology of Houck

What does the name Houck mean?

The Anglo-Saxon name Houck comes from the family having resided in Dorset at Hooke, a parish, in the union of Beaminster, hundred of Eggerton, Bridport division. Hooke is also a chapelry, in the parish of Snaith, union of Goole, Lower division of the wapentake of Osgoldcross in the West Ridig of Yorkshire and Hook is a hamlet, in the parish and union of Kingston-Upon-Thames, First division of the hundred of Kingston in Surrey. 1

"Many localities in England bear the name of "the Hook," an expression which is doubtless topographical, though its precise derivation is not known. It is probably allied to the Teutonic hoe, hoh, hoch, Sec., all meaning a hill or elevated place. The surname was written in the XIV. cent. atte Hooke, and this by crasis sometimes became Tooke. It may be mentioned that Hoke, as a personal name, occurs in Saxon times. " 2

The name typically means "place at the hook of land, or bend in a river or hill." 3

Early Origins of the Houck family

The surname Houck was first found in Devon where one of the first records of the name was found in 1050-71 in a reference of Old English Bynames of Devon. Later in the Assize Rolls of Lincolnshire, the Latin form of the name, Hervicus and Richard Hoc were listed in 1218. By 1230, the Pipe Rolls of Berkshire had listed John Hook, the first listing of the name as it is more commonly spelt today. 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: Reginald de le Hoke, Wiltshire, Walter del Hoke, Gloucestershire, and Love del Hok, Oxfordshire. 5

In Somerset, Robert de Hok, Richard atte Hoke, and Robert atte Houk were all listed there 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign). 6

Later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included: Margareta del Hoke, webester, Alexander de Hok, and Willelmus de Hok. 5

To the north in Scotland, "William de Huk was in charge of Thomas Galloway, 1296 and Adam de Huke, was a tenant in "vill" of Moffet, 1376. 7

Early History of the Houck family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Houck research. Another 149 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1270, 1275, 1296, 1417, 1575, 1580, 1600, 1618, 1620, 1628, 1635, 1636, 1640, 1642, 1649, 1653, 1655, 1658, 1664, 1672, 1674, 1677, 1681, 1703, 1712, 1716, 1738, 1763 and 1796 are included under the topic Early Houck History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Houck Spelling Variations

Houck has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Spelling variants included: Hook, Hooke, Hoke and others.

Early Notables of the Houck family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Reverend Thomas Huyck DCL (died 1575), Chancellor of the Diocese of London; Sir Richard Hook of Scotland; and Humphrey Hooke (1580-1658), a Member of Parliament for Bristol (1640-1642), who supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.William Hook (1600-1677), was a Puritan divine, "said to have been born of respectable parents in Hampshire in 1600; perhaps he was one of the Hooks of Bramshott in that county. He became commoner of Trinity College, Oxford, in 1618, and graduated B.A. in 1620." 8Robert Hooke, FRS (1635-1703), was an English natural...
Another 97 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Houck Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Houck Ranking

In the United States, the name Houck is the 2,469^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 9

Migration of the Houck family to Ireland

Some of the Houck family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 182 words (13 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Houck migration to the United States +

In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Houcks to arrive on North American shores:

Houck Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jury Houck, who landed in New York in 1715-1716 10

Houck Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Anthony Houck, who landed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania in 1838 10
Henry Houck, who arrived in Maryland in 1844 10
P P Houck, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 10

Contemporary Notables of the name Houck (post 1700) +

Charles Weston Houck (1933-2017), American jurist, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina (1979–2003)
William Russell Houck (1926-2016), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, Bishop of Jackson, Mississippi (1984-2003), Auxiliary Bishop of Jackson (1979-1984)
James Richard Houck (1940-2015), American astrophysicist, Kenneth A. Wallace Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University
Joy Newton Houck Jr. (1942-2003), American actor, screenwriter and B-movie director
Rebecca Chavez Houck, American member of the Utah State House of Representatives
Hudson Houck, the American offensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys
Sargent Perry "Sadie" Houck (1856-1919), American Major League Baseball shortstop
Byron Houck (1891-1969), American professional baseball player
William Limburg Houck (1893-1960), Canadian (American born) politician
Herbert N. Houck, American fighter pilot and flying ace in the U.S. Navy, during World War II, credited with 5 aerial victories
... (Another 16 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Houck family +

USS Indianapolis

Richard Eugene Houck (1917-2002), American crew member on board the ship "USS Indianapolis" when she was on a top secret trip for the first nuclear weapon, she was sunk by Japanese Navy on 30th July 1945, he survived the sinking 11

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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.
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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Final Crew List, retrieved 2021, October 30th Retrieved from https://www.ussindianapolis.com/final-crew