Howlan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Anglo-Saxon name Howlan comes from the family having resided in one of four places named Hoyland in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The surname Howlan belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Howlan family

The surname Howlan was first found in Yorkshire at either High Hoyland, Upper or Lower Hoyland, and Hoyland Swaine. All three parishes and villages are listed in the Domesday Book of 1086: Holand for Hoyland High; Hoiland for Hoyland Nether; and Hollande for Hoyland Swaine. 1 2

All of the villages literally mean "cultivated land on or near a hill-spur," from the Old English words "hoh" + "land." The latter "Swaine" variant is believed to be a manorial affix added in the 12th century from a man called, Swein. 3

Early History of the Howlan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Howlan research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1147, 1172, 1187, 1540, 1591, 1600 and 1673 are included under the topic Early Howlan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Howlan Spelling Variations

Howlan 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: Howland, Hoyland and others.

Early Notables of the Howlan family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Richard Howland D.D. (1540-1600), Bishop of Peterborough, the son and heir of John Howland, gentleman, of the city of London, and Anne Greenway of Cley, Norfolk, was born at Newport Pond, near Saffron...
John Howland (c.1591-1673), from Fenstanton in Huntingdonshire, a servant to the Carver family and one of the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower

Howlan 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 Howlans to arrive on North American shores:

Howlan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Howlan, aged 20, who landed in New York in 1854 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Howlan (post 1700) +

George Howlan, American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in Alberton, 1884 5

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, August 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html