Etymology

howe

H4O1W4E1

Today it means: An English topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived by a small hill. Full definition →

Middle English hoʒe ← Old English hoh ← Old Norse haugr
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The story

  1. Old Norse · derived fromhaugr“hill”
  2. Old English · derived fromhoh“hock, heel”
  3. Middle English · derived fromhoʒe“steep ridge”
  4. English todayHowe

* As an English surname, from Middle English hoʒe (“steep ridge”), a late variant of hōge, dative case of Old English hoh (“hock, heel”), with likely influence from Old Norse haugr (“hill”). * Also as an English surname, variant of Hugh, pronounced to rhyme with how. * As a Norwegian surname, Americanized from Hove, from the dative singular of Old Norse hof (“place of worship”). * As an Irish surname, variant of Haugh; also a variant of Hoey. * As a Chinese surname, variant romanization of 侯, see also Hou. * Also as a Chinese surname, possibly from Cantonese form of the names 豪 (háo), 浩, and 昊 (hào).

Words from the same roots

Old Englishhoh all →

howHoughtonhooHuttonkewhoughHoltonHowarthhockMintoHoylandHullandheugh

Old Norsehaugr all →

howhugeHaugHauglandIngleby Greenhow

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.