Howell (name)

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Howell
An example of a Howell family Coat of Arms: Gules, three towers, tripled towered, argent. (the Coat of Arms for Edward Howell, Lord of Westbury)
PronunciationEnglish: /ˈhaʊəl/
Welsh: [ˈhəu̯.ɛl]
Language(s)Welsh
Origin
Word/nameCeltic, Old Welsh
Meaning"Eminent", "prominent"
Region of originWales, Great Britain
MottoVirtus in arduo
(Latin for 'Valour in difficulty')
Other names
Variant form(s)Hoel, Howells, Howel, Howle Hugh, Hywel
Frequency comparisons:[1]

Howell (/ˈhaʊəl/, Welsh pronunciation: [ˈhəu̯.ɛl]) is a surname and given name originating from Wales. As a surname, it is not particularly common among those of Welsh ancestry, as it is an anglicized form of the Welsh name Hywel. It originates in a dynasty of kings in Wales and Brittany in the 9th and 10th centuries, most notably king Hywel Dda ("Howel the Good") and three Welsh royal houses of that time onwards. The royal House of Tudor was also descended from them. Today, nearly 200,000 people bear this surname.

Etymology and history[edit]

Welsh origin[edit]

The name Howell originates from the Welsh masculine given name, Hywel, meaning "eminent" or "prominent", derived from the Old Welsh given name, Higuel.[2] Literally meaning, hy- (“good”) + gwêl (“sight”), "well-seen".

The first known recording of the name comes in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, referring to a Brittonic king known as Huwal of the West Welsh in 926 AD.[3] Many scholars believe this to be referring to the 10th-century law giving Welsh king, Hywel Dda,[4][5][6] to which many Howells claim their descent from.[7] He is the most famous historical bearer of the name, and was recorded with the title King of the Britons by 950 AD.

Howell as a surname is derived from the name of an ancestor, meaning the "son of Hoel" (and variants). Its original Welsh form would use the prefix ap, for example: Owain ap Hywel ("Owain son of Hywel").[8] The Latin motto for the Howell family name is Virtus in arduo ("valour in difficulty").[9] Howell (and its variant forms) as a given name has been popular in honour of Hywel Dda since the Middle Ages.[10]

In Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th century pseudohistorical Historia regum Britanniae, there is mention of a late 5th and early 6th-century Brittonic king known as Hywel the Great, said to be born in around 500 AD. This is the earliest claimed account of the name, although Hywel the Great is generally considered as legendary, he appears in Welsh mythology and the Matter of Britain as a "king of Brittany". He is considered a Welsh saint and was said to have been a relative of the legendary King Arthur.[11][12]

In England[edit]

After the English Conquest of Wales in the 13th century, followed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 in the 16th century, Wales was incorporated into the Kingdom of England. This resulted in the migration of Howells into Western England from Wales, particularly in counties along the Anglo-Welsh border.[7] Many settlers anglicized their surnames from their original Welsh forms, such as "Hywel" to instead "Howell".[13] In the Eastern English counties, the name was brought by Breton settlers after the Norman Conquest. The Breton forms of the name were Houuel, Huwel, Huwal, and Howael.[14] There is also a claim for the surname having separate English origins, from the place-name Howell found in Lincolnshire and derived from the Old English, hugol meaning “mound” or “hillock.”[7]

In the British Empire[edit]

As a result of English colonialism and subsequently, the British Empire, descendants of the Howell family name can be found across the world. Today, It is most prevalently found in the core Anglosphere countries, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.[15] However, during the period of slavery in the British colonies, many slaves were known by the surname of their masters, or adopted those surnames upon their emancipation. Some descendants of these formerly enslaved peoples, continue to bear these surnames today, particularly in countries in the West Indies.[16]

Geographical distribution[edit]

As of 2014, over 74.0% of all known bearers of the surname Howell were residents of the United States, 12.3% are in the British Isles (10.4% in England, 1.3% in Wales, 0.2% in Scotland, 0.2% in Ireland, 0.2% in Northern Ireland) 4.6% in Australia, 3.0% in Canada, 1.7% in Jamaica, 0.8% in South Africa and 0.7% in New Zealand.[15]

Country 1880-81 % of Howells 2014 % of Howells % Pop. Change 1880–2014
United States United States 22,965 64.5% 144,930 74.0% +531.1%
England England 10,134 28.5% 20,399 10.4% +101.3%
Wales Wales 2,373 6.7% 2,461 1.3% +3.7%
Australia Australia no data no data 9,137 4.6% not applicable
Canada Canada 5,968 3.0%
Jamaica Jamaica 3,344 1.7%
South Africa South Africa 1,669 0.8%
New Zealand New Zealand 1,320 0.7%
Other countries 132 0.3% 6,558 3.3%
Total[15] 35,604 100% 195,786 100% +449.9% (total)

Notable people with the name include:

Surname[edit]

A[edit]

B[edit]

C[edit]

D[edit]

E[edit]

F[edit]

G[edit]

H[edit]

I[edit]

  • Ian Howell (born 1958), South African cricketer and umpire

J[edit]

K[edit]

L[edit]

M[edit]

N[edit]

P[edit]

R[edit]

S[edit]

T[edit]

V[edit]

  • Valma Howell (1896–1979), Australian artist
  • Varina Howell (1826–1906), First Lady of the Confederate States of America; wife of CSA President Jefferson Davis
  • Verdun Howell (born 1937), Australian rules footballer
  • David Koresh (born Vernon Howell) (1959–1993), American leader of Branch Davidians religious sect

W[edit]

Y[edit]

Given name[edit]

Fictional characters[edit]

  • Brutus "Brutal" Howell, prison guard played by David Morse in The Green Mile
  • Claire Howell, prison guard played by Kristin Rohde on TV's Oz
  • Thurston Howell III, millionaire played by Jim Backus on TV's Gilligan's Island
  • Lovey Howell, wife of Thurston, played by Natalie Schafer on Gilligan's Island
  • Elliot Howell III, fictional Hindenburg passenger credited to Colby Chester in the eponymous film
  • Howell Jenkins, real (given by his parents) name of Wizard Howl in the fantasy trilogy Howl's Moving Castle
  • Carl Howell, in the TV series Glee, played by John Stamos

See also[edit]

Search for "Howell" on Wikipedia.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Howell Surname Meaning and Distribution". forebears.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2014
  2. ^ Campbell, Mike. "Meaning, origin and history of the name Hywel". Behind the Name. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  3. ^ "Surname Database: Howell Last Name Origin". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  4. ^ Charles-Edwards, T. M. (2013). Wales and the Britons 350-1064. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 510–511. ISBN 978-0-19-821731-2.
  5. ^ Kirby, D. P. (1991). "Hywel (Dda) ap Cadell king of Deheubarth d. 950". In Ann Williams; Alfred P. Smyth; D. P. Kirby (eds.). A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain. Seaby. ISBN 1-85264-047-2.
  6. ^ Foot, Sarah (2011). Æthelstan: the first king of England. Yale University Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-300-12535-1.
  7. ^ a b c "Howell Surname Meaning, History & Origin". Select Surnames. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  8. ^ Bardsley, Charles Wareing Endell (1896). A dictionary of English and Welsh surnames. H. Frowde. p. 618.
  9. ^ Fairbairn, James (1905). Fairbairn's Book of Crests of the families of Great Britain and Ireland (4th ed.). T. C. & E. C. Jack. p. 90.
  10. ^ "Howell Name Meaning & Howell Family History". www.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  11. ^ Geoffrey of Monmouth. "Historia regum Britanniae" [History of the Kings of Britain]. British Library (in Latin). Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  12. ^ Ford, David Nash. "Hywel the Great of Brittany". Early British Kingdoms. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  13. ^ "Howell Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History". forebears.io. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  14. ^ "Howell Name Meaning, Family History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms". HouseOfNames. January 2000. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  15. ^ a b c "Howell Diaspora - 2014". forebears.io. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  16. ^ "Ancestors from the Caribbean - Ethnicity and Surnames". Norfolk Record Office.
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