Howard - Meaning of Howard

What does Howard mean?

Pronounce
Howard

[ 2 syll. ho-war(d), how-a-rd ] The baby boy name Howard is pronounced HH-AW-erD †. Howard is of Old Norse origin and it is used mainly in English. The first name is from an English noble surname which is itself of uncertain origin. The surname could be from Haward (Old Norse) containing the elements ha (meaning 'horse, high') and ward ('warden, guard'), suggesting a derivation from the job title of a warden. It could also be from Huguard (Germanic), itself from hugu ('heart, mind, spirit') and vardu. Another derivation suggests an origin from the Old French Houard meaning 'he who works with a hoe'. Irrespective of the actual origin, the surname was borne by the dukes of Norfolk since the 13th century. The first name was adopted by English speakers from the start of the 19th century.

Howard has 13 variant forms that are used in English and foreign languages. English variant forms include How, Howea, Howee, Howerd, Howey, Howi, Howird, Howurd, Howy, and Howyrd. Other English variants include the pet forms Howie and Ward. The Hawaiian Haoa is a variant form of Howard that is used in foreign languages.

See also the related categories, spirit (strength), title, english, heart, noble (honorable), guard (protector), horse, elements, protection, french, and germanic (german).

Howard is an all-time favorite. At present it is still somewhat popular as a baby name for boys, though to a lesser extent than it was before. At the peak of its usage in 1912, 0.711% of baby boys were named Howard. Its ranking then was #25. The baby name has since markedly dropped in popularity, and in recent times it is of only infrequent use. In 2018, it ranked at #968 with a usage of 0.011%, but it was nevertheless the most popular out of all boy names in its group. Howard has predominantly been a baby boy name, although in the past century it has also been used for girls. Bbaby boys named Howard outnumbered girls by 121 times in 1928.

Baby names that sound like Howard include Howerd, Howird, Howurd, Haaris, Haeward, Haewerd, Haeword, Haiward, Haiwerd, Haiword, Hardee, Hardey, Hardi, Hardie, Hardy, Harit, Harith, Harod, Harrod, and Hartee.

† Pronunciation for Howard: HH as in "he (HH.IY)" ; AW as in "cow (K.AW)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)" ; D as in "day (D.EY)"

Details of famous persons named Howard:
Archaeologist Howard Carter, born 9 May 1874 - 2 March 1939, London, England.
Business Personality Howard Hughes, born 24 December 1905 - 5 April 1976, Houston, Texas.
Filmmaker Howard Hawks, born Howard Winchester Hawks, 30 May 1896 - 26 December 1977, Goshen, Indiana.
Historian Howard Zinn, New York, New York.
Politician Howard Dean, born Howard Brush Dean III, 17 November 1948, East Hampton, New York.
Radio Personality Howard Stern, born 12 January 1954, Jackson Heights, New York.
Rapper Chingy, born Howard Bailey, 9 March 1980, St. Louis, Missouri.