Surname Howitt - Meaning and Origin
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Howitt: What does the surname Howitt mean?
The last name Howitt is believed to have derived from the Old English hoh (hill or mound) and wyrt (plant), and may have originally been an occupational name for someone who worked with plants on a hill.
It is thought that Howitt appeared as a surname in England in the 13th century and is found mainly in Lancashire and Yorkshire, where it may have been a nickname for someone with a hilled brow, a raised or protruding forehead.
The Howitt family name was found in various locales dating back to the 14th century, such as Howottesville in Derbyshire, England and Howside, Northumberland.
The most famous bearer of the Howitt name is probably the Victorian writer and traveller William Howitt (1792-1879). He and his wife, Mary Howitt, wrote a number of books on natural history and entomology, as well as children's stories.
The Howitts have since spread to many parts of the world, particularly Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and South Africa. They are a small but diverse family, spanning a wide range of professions, from farmers to pilots and even Members of Parliament.
The Howitt name has a long and varied history, with individuals from different parts of the world having left their mark on society. Its early roots in the Old English hoh and wyrt is what ties them all together, and makes the Howitts a unique group with a shared heritage.
Order DNA origin analysisHowitt: Where does the name Howitt come from?
The surname Howitt is found across many countries around the world today, but the particular name appears to be most common in the United Kingdom and Australia. According to records from Ancestry.com, in the United Kingdom there were over 1,700 occurrences of the name in the 1881 census. The same records show that the highest concentration of the surname was in Yorkshire, as well as some concentrations in Lancashire, Derbyshire, Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmorland.
In Australia, records indicate that the surname Howitt dates back to the early to mid-1800s, when settlers sailed from England to Australia with the Howitt surname. As a result, there are several occurrences of Howitt to be found in Australian records as well. The highest concentration of the surname in Australia is in Victoria, just south of the capital Melbourne. However, the name is also present in parts of New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, and South Australia.
Additionally, there are occasional scattered records of the surname Howitt in Germany, Canada, and the United States. However, the surname appears to be far less prominent outside of the United Kingdom and Australia. It is estimated that there are about 8,500 people carrying the surname Howitt on a global scale.
Variations of the surname Howitt
The surname Howitt is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and its variants derive from the same ancient, thickly-populated region of northern Germany known as Saxony. The Howitt surname can be spelled in many different ways, including Haywood, Howat, Howitt, Howitts, Howits, Huyett, and Hewit.
The surname Howitt is very common among individuals with English, Welsh, and Scottish ancestry, and can be derived from two distinct sources. The first source of the surname Howitt is the Old English personal name Huw, which was popular throughout the Middle Ages and refers to the "heart" or "mind." This Old English name was derived from the German "Hugh," which in turn was a contraction of Hugo and HugoGott.
The second potential source of the surname Howitt is the Old English word "hoeg" meaning "hill" or "height." This source of the surname is thought to have been adopted by families who managed to establish themselves in the uplands after having migrated from lower-lying areas.
In addition to the various spellings listed above, the Howitt surname is also sometimes spelled Haywit, Hwit, Hewitt, Hut, Hewatt, and Howitson. Moreover, several distinct variants of the Howitt surname can be found with a variety of surnames including Hugg, Hugget, Hokat, Howeth, Hugin, and Howston. Finally, the surname Howitt is sometimes combined with the surnames of other families, such as Harrison-Howitt or Squire-Howitt, providing yet another variation of this popular English surname.
Famous people with the name Howitt
- Mary Howitt (1799-1888): Mary Howitt was an English poet and author most famous for her poem "The Spider and the Fly" published in 1829. She wrote many other works which were primarily geared towards children, such as “The Story of the Firefly,” “Willy and Maggie,” and “The Pied Piper of Hamelin.”
- William Howitt (1792-1879): William Howitt was an English topographer, poet, naturalist, and early settler of Australia. He wrote many travel journals of his trip to Australia and also wrote extensively about the native fauna and flora. He is remembered for his book “The History of the Colonization of the British Aborigines” which was published in 1846.
- Hilda Howitt (1872-1928): Hilda Howitt was an English painter, most famous for her watercolours and etchings. She had two solo exhibitions at the Royal Academy and she also became a member of the Society of Women Artists in 1900.
- Henry Howitt (1823-1897): Henry Howitt was a British journalist and travel writer, best known for his travel diaries of his journeys to India and Australia. He wrote many books about these trips, such as “Gems of India” and “The Wanderer in Australia.” He was particularly known for his describing accurately the culture and scenery of the places he visited.
- Alfred Howitt (1830-1908): Alfred Howitt was an Australian anthropologist and Gold Commissioner. He conducted two notable field trips to study Indigenous Australian culture, known as the Horn Expedition and the Howitt Expedition. He is best known for his book “Australian Race: Its Origin, Manners and Customs,” which was published in 1904 and is still in print today.