The Howe surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 42,265 people carried this name — #820 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 6,980 people counted. That is up 4% from 40,555 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Howe surname

An English topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived by a small hill.

As an English surname, from Middle English hoʒe (“steep ridge”), a late variant of hōge, dative case of Old English hoh (“hock, heel”), with likely influence from Old Norse haugr (“hill”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Howe» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Hugh’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: Roger del Howes, Cambridgeshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers How, Howe, Howes, Hows and Howse.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 402 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 16 births for the Howe name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 700 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 6
Munster 5
Leinster 4
Connacht 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

44 people named Howe live in Switzerland.

They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 14
Vaud 6
Thurgau 5
Bern 4
Neuchâtel 4
St. Gallen 4
Schwyz 4
Valais 3

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 37 people named Howe.

Most of them — 27 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 7 départements, most often Somme.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 27
Somme 3
Hauts-de-Seine 2
Calvados 1
Ille-et-Vilaine 1
Sarthe 1
Paris 1
Essonne 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

49 people named Howe is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 49

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).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Howe was found among the farmers of 5 counties.

It was most frequent in Somerset: 24 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 417. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Somerset 24
Derbyshire 19
Bedfordshire 18
Huntingdonshire 18
Northamptonshire 15

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Howe was recorded 25 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 962nd most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 20. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Howe in American newspapers,
1897–1907.

Newspaper page from Hattiesburg Daily News carrying the name Howe
Hattiesburg Daily News 1907-06-22
Newspaper page from Foster's Daily Democrat carrying the name Howe
Foster's Daily Democrat 1897-11-26
Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Howe
The Portland Daily Press 1897-12-01

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 31,662 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Howe in Australian newspapers,
1800s–2000s.

124,278 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Howe. The most, 16,785, date from the 1910s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 36,292
Victoria 24,864
South Australia 22,835
Queensland 18,431
Tasmania 11,219
Western Australia 8,422
ACT (Canberra) 1,954
Northern Territory 93

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Howe.

Who carried it

People named Howe,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James Howe
    James Howe d. 1837 · Christian missionary
  • Walter Howe
    Walter Howe d. 1915
  • John Howe, 1st Baron Chedworth d. 1742 · politician
  • Thomas Howe d. 1771 · politician
  • Valentine Howe d. 1904 · politician
  • Hopcyn Howe d. 1894 · Methodist minister

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Howe,
in the records of 9 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States5,827 records

5,827 records of the Howe name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,532
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,531
  • Other U.S. records 2,764
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Ethel B. Howe

    Born 1922 in Mississippi. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Shelby; farm hand from Yalobusha County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Goshen Cemetery, Coffeeville, Mississippi.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harry A. Howe

    Born 1906 in Washington. Enlisted 1942 at Tacoma; fireman from Lewis County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1981, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Francis Edward Howe

    Born 1946; from Salisbury, North Carolina. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 5,827 records for Howe in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia2,444 records

2,444 records of the Howe name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,070
  • Tasmanian Names Index 567
  • Other Australian records 807
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Thomas Howe

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Lord William Bentinck, sailing from Portsmouth in 1838. Native of Melbourne, Derbyshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1848.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record James Howe

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Mayda, sailing from Woolwich in 1845. Native of Suffolk. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1856. Married 1856 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 30.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Howe

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Layton, sailing from London in 1839. Native of Suffolk. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,444 records for Howe in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada499 records

499 records of the Howe name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 270
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 49
  • Other Canadian records 180
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mildred Howe

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 22; buried at Kentville.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thos Howe

    Came to Ontario in 1875 aboard the Polynesian, bound for Orillia, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mildred Howe

    Buried in 1926 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 18.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.

Showing 3 of 499 records for Howe in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Germany242 records

242 records of the Howe name in Germany
  • Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919 239
  • German emigration and citizenship files 3
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Otto Howe

    Born 1895; from Geilenfelde, Friedeberg N. M. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 3 December 1918 (Infantry Regiment No. 359).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Christian Friedrich Howe

    Emigrated to North America in 1882.

    Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek / Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv (CC0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Karl Ferdinand Howe

    Emigrated to North America in 1873.

    Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek / Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv (CC0)

Showing 3 of 242 records for Howe in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0) · Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

United Kingdom93 records

93 records of the Howe name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 69
  • Stirling Council burial records 11
  • Other British records 13
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Alexander Logie Howe

    Died 1978, aged 70; buried at Drymen Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Harriet Howe

    Buried in 1849 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 73.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George Howe

    Will proved in 1929; of Gwaun Cae, Gurwen.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 93 records for Howe in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand50 records

50 records of the Howe name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 25
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 20
  • Other New Zealand records 5
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Clarence John Howe

    Buried in 1939 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 61.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Fanny Howe

    Died 1934, aged 53; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 50 records for Howe in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands32 records

32 records of the Howe name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 20
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 9
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 3
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Walter Ernest Howe

    Married in 1945 in Rolde; farmer.

    Open Archives, Drents Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Janna Howe

    Died 1882 in Denekamp, aged 52.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 32 records for Howe in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France7 records

7 records of the Howe name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marc William Howe

    Born 1956 in Noyen-sur-Sarthe (Sarthe); died 2001 in Saint-Joseph (La Réunion).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 7 records for Howe in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Norway3 records

3 records of the Howe name in Norway Norway's 1910 census
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Agnes Howe

    Census of 1910: Bleketrapperne, Bergen; shop assistant, born 1886 in Bergen.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)

Showing 1 of 3 records for Howe in Norway.

Counts: Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Howe.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Howe 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.

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