Given name & surname
Howell
“a distinguished or eminent man”
Howell is used as a given name and a surname. One Welsh interpretation is “a distinguished or eminent man.”
Original WelshHywel
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Welsh interpretation is “a distinguished or eminent man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Welsh.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Howell is a variant of Hywel. The history of Hywel gives this family its wider story. Hywel was in use during the Middle Ages.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Howell through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,923
- 3,923 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1920
- 93 babies
- 2025
- 12
- #6,947 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +104%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 12 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 6,947 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 93 in 1920. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,667 as a first name in 2020; 107,414 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Howell’s family of names
In English usage, Howell shares an earlier linguistic root with Powell. Howell has a related form in Howel. Howell has a related form in Howil.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Howell
- Howell CobbAmerican politician (1815–1868)
- Howell DavisWelsh pirate1690–1719
- Howell HeflinDemocratic United States Senator from Alabama (1921-2005)
- Howell E. JacksonAmerican jurist and politician (1832-1895)
- Howell HarrisWelsh preacher (1714–1773)
- Howell CobbAmerican congressman for Georgia (1772-1818)
- Howell M. Estes IIIUnited States general (1941–2024)
- H. A. GwynneBritish writer (1865–1950)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Howell, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Oran
“surrounded by light” · “a pale-skinned man”
>99% boys
Henderson
“the son of Henry”
>99% boys
Orin
“a dark-haired beauty”
99% boys · 1% girls
Norval
“from the northern valley”
>99% boys
Kermit
“one who is free of envy”
>99% boys
Cyril
“a master or lord”
>99% boys
Ennis
“from the market town” · “from the island; the only choice”
>99% boys
Henery
Henery is a surname from Irish.
>99% boys