Given name & surname
Howland
“from the highlands; from the hilly land”
Howland is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the highlands; from the hilly land.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the highlands; from the hilly land.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Howland through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 22
- 22 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1915
- 6 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 8,201 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.
Howland’s family of names
Howland has a related form in Howiond. Howland has a related form in Howlan. Howland has a related form in Howlande.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Howland
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Howland, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Halstead
“from the manor grounds”
>99% boys
Haywood
“from the hedged forest”
>99% boys
Halton
“from the manor on the hill”
>99% boys
Hale
“from the hall of light; a heroine” · “from the hall; a hero”
>99% boys
Homer
“a tomboyish woman” · “of the pledge; an epic poet”
>99% boys
Howard
“army guardian” · “the guardian of the home”
>99% boys
Oswald
“the power of God”
>99% boys
Hilton
“a wealthy woman” · “from the town on the hill”
85% boys · 15% girls