Howell
A Welsh surname from the old personal name Hywel, meaning a name carried by the famous medieval ruler Hywel Dda.
The #272 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,756 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Howell comes from the Welsh personal name Hywel, an old native name often Latinized in medieval records as Howel or Hoel. The surname was originally a patronymic: it identified someone as the descendant of a man named Hywel, rather than as a fixed hereditary family name from the start. In Welsh usage, similar surnames often arose when a father’s given name became a family name over time.
History
The name is strongly associated with Wales and became common as Welsh surnames stabilized, especially after hereditary surnames became standard more generally. Historical writers also note that forms like Powell can come from ap Howell, showing how Welsh patronymics were sometimes fused and reduced in spelling. The surname also spread beyond Wales through migration, especially into England and later the wider English-speaking world.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The most famous bearer of the root name was Hywel Dda, or Howel the Good, a 10th-century Welsh king remembered for his laws.
From the historical record
“shire, and a towushiij in Northumberland. HOWELL. 1. A very common Welsh baptismal name (Pluel). 2. A Lincolnshire parish. HOWETT. IIOWITT. The same as Hewett, a diminutive of Hugh. HO^VGRAVE. A township in York= shire, HOWIE. Supposed to be a corruption of the Fr. surname Hauy : another deriva-”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom