The Howie surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,676 people carried this name — #7,153 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 62,900 people counted. That is up 4% from 4,510 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Howie surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

From a Middle English diminutive of Hugh.

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

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Howie was found among the farmers of Northumberland: 18 in every 10,000.

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. His list gives one count for the spellings Howey and Howie.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Northumberland 18

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, 1880s

Howie was 13 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 769. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Kilmarnock.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 590 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Howie was recorded 64 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 413th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 118. 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

Howie in American newspapers,
1866–1915.

Newspaper page from The Yazoo Sentinel carrying the name Howie
The Yazoo Sentinel 1915-07-22
Newspaper page from The Montana Post carrying the name Howie
The Montana Post 1866-08-18
Newspaper page from The Watchman And Southron carrying the name Howie
The Watchman And Southron 1897-12-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,285 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Howie in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

44,663 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Howie. The most, 7,402, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 2.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 12,495
Victoria 10,955
New South Wales 10,247
Western Australia 4,770
Queensland 4,688
Tasmania 1,257
ACT (Canberra) 131
Northern Territory 76

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

Who carried it

People named Howie,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Allison Margaret Howie d. 1968
  • William Howie 1672–1719
  • James Howie 1719–1808
  • John Howie 1735–1793 · biographer
  • James Howie 1762–1846
  • James Howie 1780–1836 · painter

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Howie,
in the records of 5 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 States456 records

456 records of the Howie name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 119
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 104
  • Other U.S. records 233
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Joel R. Howie

    Born 1916 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Croft, South Carolina; mechanic from Union County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1996, buried at Monroe City Cemetery, North Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Janet Howie

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 26; servant. From Glasgow, Scotland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Norman Perry Howie

    Born 1947; from Concord, North Carolina. U.S. Army, infantryman; died of wounds 1967 in Pleiku, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 456 records for Howie in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia897 records

897 records of the Howie name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 547
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 143
  • Other Australian records 207
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Mary Jane Howie

    Born 1854 in Horton, Tasmania. Married 1876 in Horton, Tasmania, aged 22.

    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 John Howie

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Manlius, arriving 1827; ticket of leave 1838. Native of Paisley.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Robert Howie

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Aberfoyle, aged 38; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 897 records for Howie in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada242 records

242 records of the Howie name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 181
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 21
  • Other Canadian records 40
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Thomas Howie

    Killed in 1964 at the Dominion No. 26 mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record William James Howie

    Buried in 2001 at St. Mary's Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 42.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Arthur Mansfield Howie

    Died in service in 1917.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 242 records for Howie in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom85 records

85 records of the Howie name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 37
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 26
  • Other British records 22
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Peter Howie

    Born 1870 at Aberdeen. Served in the First World War. Named in the University of Aberdeen roll of service in the Great War, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Howie

    Buried in 1882 at Valley Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 34.

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

    Buried in 1823 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 46.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 85 records for Howie in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

New Zealand12 records

12 records of the Howie name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 10
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  • Waimakariri District cemetery records, Canterbury 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Norman Blackwood Howie

    Died 1956, aged 40; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Ngaire Howie

    Born 1936, died 1999; ashes interred at Rangiora Lawn Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Howie

    Died 1938, aged 69; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 12 records for Howie in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Howie.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Howie is.
A volume says what happened to it.

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