NameCensus.

UK surname

Howison

A surname derived from a Scottish place name meaning "son of Hugh".

In the 1881 census there were 191 people recorded with the Howison surname, ranking it #13,224 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 95, ranked #31,782, down from #13,224 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Hawick and Wilton, London parishes and Govan Combination. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Mid Devon, Renfrewshire Rural North and Langbank and Whisky Isles.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Howison is 315 in 1851. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 50.3%.

1881 census count

191

Ranked #13,224

Modern count

95

2016, ranked #31,782

Peak year

1851

315 bearers

Map years

6

1851 to 1998

Key insights

  • Howison had 191 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,224 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 95 in 2016, ranked #31,782.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 315 in 1851.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Student Living and Professional Footholds.

Howison surname distribution map

The map shows where the Howison surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Howison surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Howison over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 315 #7,347
1861 historical 242 #10,154
1881 historical 191 #13,224
1891 historical 226 #13,668
1901 historical 229 #13,894
1911 historical 55 #27,313
1997 modern 97 #27,342
1998 modern 101 #27,479
1999 modern 96 #28,326
2000 modern 92 #28,832
2001 modern 90 #28,793
2002 modern 92 #29,040
2003 modern 97 #28,217
2004 modern 87 #29,897
2005 modern 90 #29,527
2006 modern 91 #29,725
2007 modern 92 #29,929
2008 modern 85 #31,247
2009 modern 90 #31,094
2010 modern 98 #30,540
2011 modern 92 #31,301
2012 modern 95 #31,107
2013 modern 99 #30,934
2014 modern 96 #31,667
2015 modern 99 #31,168
2016 modern 95 #31,782

Geography

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Where Howisons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Hawick and Wilton, London parishes, Govan Combination, Edinburgh and Wiston and Roberton. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Mid Devon, Renfrewshire Rural North and Langbank, Whisky Isles, Newburgh and Basingstoke and Deane. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Hawick and Wilton Roxburgh
2 London parishes London 3
3 Govan Combination Lanark
4 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Wiston and Roberton Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Mid Devon 011 Mid Devon
2 Renfrewshire Rural North and Langbank Renfrewshire
3 Whisky Isles Argyll and Bute
4 Newburgh Fife
5 Basingstoke and Deane 012 Basingstoke and Deane

Forenames

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First names often paired with Howison

These lists show first names that appear often with the Howison surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Howison

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Howison, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Multicultural and Educated Urbanites

Group

Student Living and Professional Footholds

Nationally, the Howison surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Student Living and Professional Footholds, within Multicultural and Educated Urbanites. This does not mean every Howison household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

The Group includes many students, some of whom reside in communal residences. Single-person households are the most prevalent and the modal age band is 25 to 44. There are few families with dependent children. A significant number of White residents were born in EU countries (although UK-born residents are more common than in the rest of the Group), and households reflect a diversity of ethnic groups. Residential turnover is exceptionally high and, communal properties aside, flats are the norm. Some properties, including those in the private rental sector, are over-crowded. Many residents are professionals and technicians educated to degree level, and the Group is particularly common near the campuses of established university towns and cities.

Wider pattern

Established populations comprising ethnic minorities together with persons born outside the UK predominate in this Supergroup. Residents present diverse personal characteristics and circumstances: while generally well-educated and practising skilled occupations, some residents live in overcrowded rental sector housing. English may not be the main language used by people in this Group. Although the typical adult resident is middle aged, single person households are common and marriage rates are low by national standards. This Supergroup predominates in Inner London, with smaller enclaves in many other densely populated metropolitan areas.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Howison is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Howison is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Howison falls in decile 10 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Howison is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Howison, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Howison

The surname Howison is of Scottish origin, with records of the name dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the regions of Ayrshire and Renfrewshire.

The name is thought to be a variant of the more common Scottish surname "Houston," which is derived from the place name "Houston" or "Hughston." This place name is believed to have originated from the Old English personal name "Hugh" or "Hugo," combined with the Old English word "tun," meaning a town or settlement.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Howison surname can be found in the Parish Records of Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, Scotland, where a Robert Howison is mentioned in 1647.

In the 17th century, the Howison family was prominent in the Scottish Borders region, with records indicating that a John Howison was a Minister of the Church of Scotland in the parish of Morebattle, Roxburghshire, in the late 1600s.

Notable individuals bearing the Howison surname include:

1. Sir Roger Howison (1745-1821), a Scottish merchant and politician who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1805 to 1807. 2. William Howison (1798-1848), a Scottish artist known for his landscape paintings, particularly of scenes from the Scottish Highlands. 3. Robert Reid Howison (1799-1871), a Scottish-American mathematician and philosopher who served as the President of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) from 1849 to 1868. 4. Henry Howison (1804-1888), a Scottish-American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and as the United States Consul in Canada. 5. Rear Admiral James Howison (1808-1886), a United States Navy officer who served during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.

While the Howison surname may have originated in specific regions of Scotland, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through migration and diaspora communities.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Howison families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Howison surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lanarkshire leads with 44 Howisons recorded in 1881 and an index of 7.75x.

County Total Index
Lanarkshire 44 7.75x
Midlothian 43 18.28x
Fife 11 10.58x
Roxburghshire 11 34.59x
West Lothian 9 34.04x
Middlesex 7 0.40x
Perthshire 7 8.88x
Durham 6 1.15x
East Lothian 6 25.80x
Stirlingshire 6 9.27x
Angus 5 3.07x
Lancashire 5 0.24x
Peeblesshire 4 48.43x
Surrey 4 0.47x
Renfrewshire 3 2.20x
Kent 2 0.33x
Yorkshire 2 0.11x
Aberdeenshire 1 0.62x
Gloucestershire 1 0.29x
Hampshire 1 0.28x
Norfolk 1 0.37x
Selkirkshire 1 6.30x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Edinburgh St Cuthberts in Midlothian leads with 18 Howisons recorded in 1881 and an index of 19.02x.

Place Total Index
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 18 19.02x
Wiston Robertson 12 3529.41x
Scoonie 11 488.89x
Glasgow 10 9.92x
Penicuik 10 312.50x
Carnwath 9 256.41x
Edinburgh St Stephens 9 194.38x
Whitburn 9 235.60x
Wilton 8 229.23x
Errol 7 479.45x
Bishopwearmouth 6 13.38x
Govan 6 4.27x
Polmont 6 251.05x
Heston 5 85.76x
Ashton Under Lyne 4 8.79x
Barony 4 2.78x
Dundee 4 6.59x
Peebles 4 163.93x
South Leith 4 15.11x
Lambeth 3 1.96x
West Greenock 3 12.29x
Edinburgh High Church 2 135.14x
Haddington 2 58.31x
Ormiston 2 322.58x
Smailholm 2 740.74x
Tranent 2 63.69x
Aberdeen Old Machar 1 2.95x
Aldershot 1 8.29x
Anderston 1 666.67x
Canterbury St Alphage 1 156.25x
Cheltenham 1 3.76x
Clerkenwell London 1 2.41x
Coupar Angus 1 64.94x
Culter 1 294.12x
Douglas 1 60.98x
Great Snoring 1 357.14x
Hawick 1 14.04x
Holy Trinity 1 2.39x
Hunslet 1 3.69x
Kirkdale 1 2.85x
Selkirk 1 22.32x
Southwark St George Martyr 1 2.83x
St George Bloomsbury 1 9.93x
Woolwich 1 4.52x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Howison surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Sarah 3
Jane 2
Agnes 1
Annie 1
Betsy 1
Edith 1
Eleanor 1
Elizabeth 1
Emily 1
Fanny 1
Margaret 1
Mary 1
Susanna 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Howison surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
George 3
John 2
William 2
Andrew 1
Charles 1
Frederick 1
Henry 1
Herbert 1
Robert 1

FAQ

Howison surname: questions and answers

How common was the Howison surname in 1881?

In 1881, 191 people were recorded with the Howison surname. That placed it at #13,224 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Howison surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 95 in 2016. That gives Howison a modern rank of #31,782.

What does the Howison surname mean?

A surname derived from a Scottish place name meaning "son of Hugh".

What does the Howison map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Howison bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.