2000
#4,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,486
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.40
Rare Last name
Howerton
Derived from a place name meaning "hill farm town" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,131 Americans carry the last name Howerton. That puts it at #5,414 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 48,065 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Howerton surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
7.1K
1 in 48,065
Census rank
#5,414
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,219 bearers of the surname Howerton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5414th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Howerton, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Howerton
The surname Howerton has its origins in the northern English counties of Yorkshire and Northumberland. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "hol" meaning hill or hollow, and "tun" meaning a settlement or farmstead. Thus, Howerton would have originally referred to a settlement situated in a hollow or on a hill.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, the earliest comprehensive record of landowners in England, there are several entries for places with similar names like Holeton and Holintun. These may have been early forms or variations of the name Howerton.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Howerton itself can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Yorkshire from 1273, where a William de Holeton is mentioned. The "de" prefix indicated he was from the place called Holeton, which was likely an early spelling of Howerton.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the surname began appearing more frequently in various records across northern England. Variations in spelling included Houlton, Holton, and Holtoun, reflecting the regional dialects and scribal inconsistencies of the time.
Notable individuals with the surname Howerton throughout history include:
1. Thomas Howerton (c. 1550-1621), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Master of St John's College, Cambridge.
2. Richard Howerton (1590-1668), an English landowner and member of parliament who represented Northumberland during the English Civil War.
3. Elizabeth Howerton (1626-1711), an English Quaker missionary who traveled extensively in the American colonies, promoting her faith and facing persecution.
4. John Howerton (1732-1806), an American frontiersman and explorer who was among the first settlers in Kentucky and helped establish the Wilderness Road.
5. Mary Howerton (1799-1888), an American educator and abolitionist who founded one of the first schools for African American children in Ohio.
While the name Howerton became well-established in England, it also spread to other parts of the British Isles and eventually to the American colonies as migrants carried the surname with them across the Atlantic.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Howerton
Among Census respondents with the surname Howerton, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Howerton bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Howerton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.1% · 5,294
- Black or African American5.0% · 311
- Two or more races4.7% · 292
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 206
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 45
Timeline
Historical Census data for Howerton
Howerton appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#5,342
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,516
+30 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 2.21
Rank movement Down 371 places
2020
#5,414
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,219
-297 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 2.08
Rank movement Down 72 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,971 | 6,486 | 2.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,342 | 6,516 | 2.21 | +30 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 371 places |
| 2020 | #5,414 | 6,219 | 2.08 | -297 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 72 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Howerton surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,342 | #5,414 | -1.3% |
| Count | 6,516 | 6,219 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.21 | 2.08 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Howerton bearers went from 6,516 to 6,219 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 72 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,342 to #5,414.
FAQ
Howerton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Howerton?
Name Census estimates that about 7,131 living Americans carry the surname Howerton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 48,065 residents.
How common is Howerton?
Howerton ranks #5,414 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.08 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,219 people with the surname Howerton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.08 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Howerton.
Has Howerton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Howerton went from 6,516 recorded bearers to 6,219. That is a decrease of 297 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,342 to #5,414.
What does the Census say about the background of Howerton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Howerton, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Howerton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.1% (5,294 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Howerton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.1%), Black (5.0%), Two or More Races (4.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Howerton (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Howerton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hill farm town" in Old English. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Howerton (2.08 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Howerton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.