Houfe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The name Houfe first arose amongst the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from their having lived near a hill or steep ridge of land. The surname Houfe 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 Houfe may be derived from residence in one of a variety of 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 Houfe family

The surname Houfe was first found in Cheshire at Hough, a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East which dates back to the 13th century when it was first listed as Hohc. 1 2 3

Dusting off some centuries-old records we found, Wilielmus de Huff, registered in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 4

The name is "especially common in Bedfordshire and Northants, fairly so in Suffolk, Essex, Herts and Bucks, and very common in Northumberland and Durham. The nominative singular gives Hough, in Scotland and Northern England Heugh." 5

Early History of the Houfe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Houfe research. Another 110 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1564, 1618, 1651, 1660, 1681, 1687, 1699, 1717 and 1743 are included under the topic Early Houfe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Houfe Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Houfe has appeared include Hough, Huff, Houfe, Hoff, Hoffe and others.

Early Notables of the Houfe family

Notables of this surname at this time include: John Hough (1651-1743), Bishop of Oxford (1699), and later Bishop of Worcester (1717), best known for the confrontation over his election as President at Magdalen College, Oxford (1681-1687.) He was "the son of John Hough...
Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Houfe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Houfe family to Ireland

Some of the Houfe family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Houfe family

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Houfe arrived in North America very early: Atherton Hough settled in Boston in 1633; John Hough arrived in Philadelphia in 1683 with his wife and child; Richard Hough settled in Pennsylvania in 1683 with his wife and children.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)