Howard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Howard

What does the name Howard mean?

The name Howard originated with the Anglo-Saxon tribes that once ruled Britain. It is derived from the Old French name Huard or the Old German name Howard. The former name is derived from the Old German name Hugihard, which literally means heart-brave. The latter name, which is also spelled Howart, is a cognate of the Old Norse name Haward and means high or chief warden.

Occasionally, the surname Howard may have been applied to someone who worked at a dairy farm at which female sheep were kept. In this case, the derivation is from the Old English words eowu, which means ewe, and hierde, which means herd.

In other cases, the name was adopted from where the person was born as in “William, son of Roger Fitz Valevine, took the name of Howard from being born in the Castle of Howard, in Wales, in the time of Henry I.” 1 Another source sums up the diversity of the family’s origin thusly: “Camden, the most important witness of all, places Howard amongst the names in use in England at the time of the Conquest. In all probability this name has had more than one origin.” 2

Early Origins of the Howard family

The surname Howard was first found in Norfolk, where one of the first records of the family was Elwin le Heyvard, who was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. The same rolls listed Alice le Heyward in Huntingdonshire and Geoffrey le Hayward in Cambridgeshire. Later, William Heyward or Howard was Sheriff of Norwich, Norfolk in 1657. 3

“The church [of East Winch in Norfolk] is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower; in the east window are the arms of Vere and Howard, and on the north side is the ancient chapel of St. Mary, the burial-place of the latter family. Near Grancourt House, which was the seat of Sir William Howard, who purchased the manor in the reign of Edward the First, are some slight remains of a religious house.” 4

But the family quickly became widespread. Epworth in Lincolnshire was another ancient family seat. “This place, which is the principal town in the Isle of Axholme, a district comprising the north-west portion of the county, was anciently the residence of the Howard family, who had a castellated mansion here, of which nothing now remains except the site, where within the last 70 years have been dug up some of the cannon belonging to the fortifications.” 4

In Westmorland, at Levens in the parish, union, and ward of Kendal another early branch of the family was found. “On the eastern bank of the river Kent, which is crossed by a bridge on the Kendal road, is Levens Hall, the venerable mansion of the Howards, embosomed in a fine park, and crowned with towers, which, overtopping the highest trees, command extensive prospects on every side. The Howard family built the chapel, a parsonage, and schools, and endowed the living. ” 4