Howington last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Howington is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Howington.

Meaning of Howington

Derived from a place name meaning "the town of Hoga's people" in Old English.

Howington, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Howington surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Howington in America

Howington is the 13255th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Howington surname appeared 2,303 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Howington.

We can also compare 2010 data for Howington to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 13255 12458 6.20%
Count 2,303 2,285 0.78%
Proportion per 100k 0.78 0.85 -8.59%

The history of the last name Howington

The surname Howington is of English origin, believed to have derived from the Old English words "hoh" meaning "heel" or "ridge," and "tun" meaning "farm" or "settlement." It likely originated as a locational name for someone who lived near a ridge or hill.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Hohtun" in Warwickshire. This suggests that the surname was established in England by the late 11th century.

In the 13th century, records show the name spelled as "Hoghton" and "Hogheton" in various parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire. These variations likely resulted from regional dialects and the evolution of the English language over time.

The Howington family has a long history in Staffordshire, where they were landowners and prominent members of the community. One notable figure was Sir Thomas Howington (1524-1596), a wealthy merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers in London.

Another significant individual was Robert Howington (1588-1648), a Puritan clergyman and one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was born in Boxted, Essex, and emigrated to America in 1635, settling in Salisbury, Massachusetts.

During the English Civil War, Captain William Howington (1620-1677) fought for the Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell. He later served as a member of the Long Parliament and was appointed governor of Stafford.

In the 18th century, John Howington (1735-1810) was a renowned architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Howington Hall and the Church of St. James.

In the 19th century, Elizabeth Howington (1823-1891) was a prominent advocate for women's rights and education. She founded the Howington School for Girls in Birmingham, which was one of the first educational institutions in England to provide higher education for women.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Howington

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Howington.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Howington was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 86.58% 1,994
Non-Hispanic Black Only 8.21% 189
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.30% 7
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.17% 27
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.13% 49
Hispanic Origin 1.61% 37

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Howington has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 86.58% 90.81% -4.77%
Black 8.21% 6.08% 29.81%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.30% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.17% 0.83% 34.00%
Two or More Races 2.13% 1.40% 41.36%
Hispanic 1.61% (S)% (S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Howington was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Howington, please contact us.

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"Howington last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/howington-surname-popularity/.

"Howington last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/howington-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Howington last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/howington-surname-popularity/.

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