The Howard surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 264,826 people carried this name — #75 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 1,110 people counted. That is up 4% from 254,779 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Howard surname
Medieval personal name from Middle English Howard, Howarde, from Old Norse Hávarðr, from hár (“high”) + varðr (“guard”). In some cases a variant of Heward, from Old French Huard.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Howard» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 61 births for the Howard name in 1890.
They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 2,700 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Dublin, Cork, Clare, and Limerick.”
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 124 people named Howard live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
97 people named Howard live in Switzerland.
They live in 9 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 91 people named Howard.
Most of them — 78 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 9 départements, most often Paris.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
29 people named Howard have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 105 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 6 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
206 people named Howard are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Howard in American newspapers,
1860–1922.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,953,957 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Howard,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Mary FitzRoy, Duchess of Richmond and Somerset 1519–1557 -
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham 1536–1624 · military personnel
-
Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton 1540–1614 · politician -
Lord William Howard 1563–1640 · antiquarian seller -
Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk 1584–1640 · politician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 202 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Howard.
- Houy 441 · U.S. census
- Houze 899 · U.S. census
- Hove 2,041 · U.S. census
- Hovhannisyan 637 · U.S. census
- Hovsepian 1,060 · U.S. census
- Howald 619 · U.S. census
- Hoy 9,196 · U.S. census
- Hoyer 3,589 · U.S. census
- Hoyos 3,694 · U.S. census
- Hu 19,999 · U.S. census
- Hua 6,939 · U.S. census
- Huan 248 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Howard is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.