Hightower
An English surname for someone who lived by, or was associated with, a high tower or prominent lookout tower.
The #1,787 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,387 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is made from Middle English elements meaning “high” and “tower,” so its plain sense is “high tower.” It most likely began as a topographic or locational name for someone living near a tall tower, a fortified keep, or a tower set on higher ground. In some cases, names of this kind could also be adopted from an existing place-name or sign-name rather than describing an actual residence.
History
The name is recorded in the kind of surname lists that group vivid English compounds such as Whitetower and Bookwalter, suggesting it was understood as a descriptive English formation. In modern usage it is best known as an American surname, though the underlying pattern is older and English in origin. The spelling has remained fairly stable, with Hightower becoming the standard form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Hightower belongs to a small cluster of English surnames that read almost like ordinary phrases, which is why they were often singled out in old surname collections.
From the historical record
“Glassburner, Icemonger, Wool weaver, Bell maker. Glass- maker, Axemaker, Watchmaker, Wellmaker, Nunmaker, Leadbeater, Bonecutter, Oxrider, Hightower, Whitetower, Catlender, Handworker, Goldspinner, Stoneeypher, Dulldus- ter. Groundwater, Saltgiver, Bookwalter, Bookstaver, Landcastle, Warmcastle, Bonnycastle…”
— A Grammar of American Surnames