*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Howe

* As an English surname, from Middle English hoʒe (“steep ridge”), a late variant of hōge, dative case of Old English hoh (“hock, heel”), with likely influence from Old Norse haugr (“hill”). * Also as an English surname,

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

An English topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived by a small hill. · A male given name transferred from the surname. · A small village and civil parish (without a council) in South Norfolk district, Norfolk, England (OS grid ref TM2799). · A small village and civil parish (without a council) in North Yorkshire, England, previously in Hambleton district (OS grid ref SE3580).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

* As an English surname, from Middle English hoʒe (“steep ridge”), a late variant of hōge, dative case of Old English hoh (“hock, heel”), with likely influence from Old Norse haugr (“hill”). * Also as an English surname, variant of Hugh, pronounced to rhyme with how. * As a Norwegian surname, Americanized from Hove, from the dative singular of Old Norse hof (“place of worship”). * As an Irish surname, variant of Haugh; also a variant of Hoey. * As a Chinese surname, variant romanization of 侯, see also Hou. * Also as a Chinese surname, possibly from Cantonese form of the names 豪 (háo), 浩, and 昊 (hào).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentionhoʒeenm · steep ridge
  • Derivation mentionhohang · hock, heel
  • Derivation mentionhaugrnon · hill
  • Cognate mentionhofnon · place of worship

This page abbreviates 9 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "hoʒe",
        "t": "steep ridge"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English hoʒe (“steep ridge”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hoh",
        "t": "hock, heel"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hoh (“hock, heel”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "haugr",
        "t": "hill"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse haugr (“hill”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "no",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "hof",
        "t": "place of worship"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse hof (“place of worship”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ga",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "zh",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Chinese"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "yue",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Cantonese"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "hoʒe",
      "hoʒe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hōge",
      "hoge#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hoh",
      "hoh#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "haugr",
      "haugr#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "Hugh",
      "Hugh#English"
    ],
    [
      "how",
      "how#English"
    ],
    [
      "Hove",
      "Hove#English"
    ],
    [
      "hof",
      "hof#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "Haugh",
      "Haugh#English"
    ],
    [
      "Hoey",
      "Hoey#English"
    ],
    [
      "侯",
      "侯#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "Hou",
      "Hou#English"
    ],
    [
      "豪",
      "豪#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "浩",
      "浩#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "昊",
      "昊#Chinese"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "An English topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived by a small hill.",
        "A male given name transferred from the surname.",
        "A small village and civil parish (without a council) in South Norfolk district, Norfolk, England (OS grid ref TM2799).",
        "A small village and civil parish (without a council) in North Yorkshire, England, previously in Hambleton district (OS grid ref SE3580)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "301160a0e5cd65a7e94474a394d9f621b863a2dcf185517e475b5adc5c4393f7",
      "rawRecordSha256": "69311beb0c27c7465291e5050edeed3de7882ebfa120c4e74402c0b0b6827a25",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 777240
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 9,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Howe →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-SG93ZQ