Howk History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The ancestors of the bearers of the Howk family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found 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 Howk family

The surname Howk 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 Howk family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Howk 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 Howk History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Howk Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Howk include Hook, Hooke, Hoke and others.

Early Notables of the Howk 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 Howk Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Howk family to Ireland

Some of the Howk 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.

Migration of the Howk family

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Howk or a variant listed above: John Hook settled in Plymouth in 1620; William Hook with his family settled in Maine in 1635; Thomas Hook settled in Virginia in 1663.

Contemporary Notables of the name Howk (post 1700) +

Henderson Howk, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Jefferson County, 1846 9

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
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, August 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html