Howard Family History

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Howard Name Meaning

English: from the Norman personal name Huard, Heward, composed of the Germanic elements hug ‘heart’, ‘mind’, ‘spirit’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’. English: from the Anglo-Scandinavian personal name Haward, composed of the Old Norse elements há ‘high’ + varðr ‘guardian’, ‘warden’. English: variant of Ewart 2. Irish: see Fogarty. Irish (County Clare) surname adopted as an equivalent of Gaelic Ó hÍomhair, which was formerly Anglicized as O’Hure.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


Similar surnames: Huard, Seward, Coward, Ward, Bovard, Howarth, Howald, Hoad, Herard

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Howard Ethnicity Estimate

What are the common regions with the Howard name?

These results combine data from everyone in the AncestryDNA® database with the last name Howard. The Ancestry® ethnicity regions shown are top five most common on average for these people.

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  • England & Wales

    49%

  • Ireland & Scotland

    19%

  • Germanic Europe

    6%

  • Cameroon, Congo, & Southern Bantu Peoples

    5%

  • Benin/Togo

    3%

Your own DNA-based ethnicity estimate will differ from what you see here. To get your personalized ethnicity estimate, order an AncestryDNA® kit.order an AncestryDNA® kit.

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Howard Family Origin

Where is the Howard family from?

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You can see how Howard families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Howard family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Howard families were found in the USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 7,511 Howard families living in Lancashire. This was about 23% of all the recorded Howard's in the UK. Lancashire had the highest population of Howard families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Howard surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Howard

Howard Family Occupations

What did your Howard ancestors do for a living?

In 1881, Agricultural Labourer, Farmer and Labourer were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Howard. The most common Howard occupation in the UK was Agricultural Labourer. 4% of Howard's were Agricultural Labourers. A less common occupation for the Howard family was Coal Miner.

View Census data for Howard | Data not to scale

  • Agricultural Labourer

    4%

  • Farmer

    4%

  • Labourer

    3%

  • Coal Miner

    2%

Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Howard ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

Howard Historical Records

What Howard family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 1 million census records available for the last name Howard. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Howard census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search 1891 UK census records for Howard

Passenger List

There are 143,000 immigration records available for the last name Howard. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Card

There are 301,000 military records available for the last name Howard. For the veterans among your Howard ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Howard military records

You've only scratched the surface of Howard family history.

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Howard Life Expectancy

What is the average Howard lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Howard life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1940, and highest in 1999. The average life expectancy for Howard in 1940 was 26, and 73 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Howard

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Howard ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

Famous Howard Family Ancestors

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