Houghton Surname

12,136th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 46,282 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Jersey

Houghton Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Haughton,' or 'Halghton,' but found in a variety of forms; compare Greenhalgh or Ridehalgh, both North-English surnames, variants of which are Greenough and Riddeough. We also find Featherstonhalgh for Feathcrstonhaugh.

Read More About This Surname

Houghton Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England20,0831:2,774367
United States15,4001:23,5362,956
Australia4,4601:6,053884
Canada2,2941:16,0622,321
New Zealand1,4591:3,104471
South Africa6521:83,09510,258
Wales4391:7,049792
Scotland3831:13,9791,792
Spain1361:343,76519,825
Ireland1311:35,9462,960
Northern Ireland1291:14,3031,992
Peru761:418,21213,084
France701:948,896108,010
Thailand531:1,332,799187,598
Jersey461:2,157365
Singapore341:161,9916,884
Switzerland241:342,20526,446
Zimbabwe241:643,26047,966
Malta241:17,9281,021
Germany221:3,659,339158,771
Honduras221:400,7473,070
Jamaica211:136,6644,886
Botswana171:128,64318,229
Brazil171:12,592,608246,358
Norway171:302,48730,120
Venezuela171:1,776,71022,419
Philippines151:6,749,215188,373
Sweden151:656,45048,545
Colombia141:3,412,43415,450
Argentina141:3,053,101127,728
Netherlands121:1,407,26575,423
Trinidad and Tobago121:113,6657,200
Malaysia111:2,681,293102,971
Hong Kong111:666,8623,581
Nigeria101:17,714,276277,641
Mexico91:13,791,80145,470
United Arab Emirates81:1,145,28440,289
Kenya71:6,597,12951,431
Ecuador71:2,272,26423,377
Isle of Man71:12,2602,387
Finland51:1,099,34045,512
Greece51:2,215,95891,893
Italy51:12,231,338126,430
Belgium51:2,299,329106,824
Portugal41:2,604,56016,079
Saudi Arabia41:7,713,95437,548
Turkey41:19,455,356155,681
Dominican Republic41:2,608,23320,941
Japan31:42,614,76459,022
India31:255,688,4611,306,352
Egypt31:30,645,251132,600
Sudan21:18,755,09814,167
Tajikistan21:4,193,34612,835
Chile21:8,808,23765,417
China21:683,660,78330,601
Cyprus21:442,4389,493
Kuwait11:3,800,69427,187
Andorra11:83,8382,381
Cayman Islands11:63,8932,384
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Brunei11:418,7313,893
Bahrain11:1,348,60810,432
Gabon11:1,889,1946,814
Iraq11:35,021,65431,813
Kazakhstan11:17,682,496204,010
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Lebanon11:5,637,08332,436
Taiwan11:23,444,74693,622
Lesotho11:2,032,55823,402
Luxembourg11:580,54215,155
Macau11:601,6301,582
Mongolia11:2,825,28917,010
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Bermuda11:65,2793,010
Myanmar11:51,937,9852,166
Serbia11:7,144,94838,459
Oman11:3,687,97114,390
Panama11:3,912,25817,195
Romania11:20,077,87089,414
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland461:96,3016,269
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England10,3771:2,349334
Scotland481:77,9844,336
Wales471:33,3711,813
Jersey11:51,8823,898
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States4,6591:10,7791,414

Houghton (158) may also be a first name.

Houghton Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Haughton,' or 'Halghton,' but found in a variety of forms; compare Greenhalgh or Ridehalgh, both North-English surnames, variants of which are Greenough and Riddeough. We also find Featherstonhalgh for Feathcrstonhaugh. There are endless towns, villages, hamlets, and small localities bearing the name of Haughton or Houghton in England; v. Halgh and Haugh.

John de Haleghton, Yorkshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Alexander de Houhton, Cambridgeshire, ibid.

Richard de Howton, Lincolnshire, Henry III-Edward I: Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I.

William de Halghton, Northumberland, 20 Edward I: Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III.

Matilda de Halghton, huswyf, webster, 1370: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Willelmus de Halghton, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Thomas Houghton, of Houghton, 1621: Wills at Chester.

Ellen Houghton, of Houghton, widow, 1647: ibid.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English) belonging to Houghton = the Hough Farm or Estate [v. under Hough, and + Old English tún] Adam de Hochton.—Cal. Inq. P.M., A.D. 1257.

There has been some confusion with Haughton, q.v.

One or two of the Houghtons (e.g. in cos. Leic. and Norf.) have the redundant suffix ‘-on-the-Hill.’

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Place name in Northern England.

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

(English) One who came from Houghton (homestead on the spur of a hill), the name of various places in England.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

Parishes and places in cos. Lancaster, Cumberland, Hunts, Hants, York, Northampton, Northumb., Norfolk, Bedford, Durham, Dorset, Leicester, &c.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Local. A town in Lancashire, England. Saxon, from hoog, or hoch, high, and ton, a hill, castle, or town.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

A location name in Bedfordshire, Durham., Lancashire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

The Houghtons are most numerous in Lancashire, though they have been established in several other counties, the name being evidently a place - name. One of the principal stocks of the Lancashire Houghtons is that of Little Pendleton, which dates back to the 15th century (W. W.).

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

Houghton Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Houghton Come From? nationality or country of origin

Houghton occurs most in England. It may occur in the variant forms:. Click here for further potential spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Houghton? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 12,136th most widely held surname worldwide, borne by around 1 in 157,460 people. This last name occurs predominantly in Europe, where 47 percent of Houghton reside; 46 percent reside in Northern Europe and 46 percent reside in British Isles. It is also the 730,165th most commonly held first name throughout the world It is held by 158 people.

Houghton is most numerous in England, where it is borne by 20,083 people, or 1 in 2,774. In England Houghton is most numerous in: Greater Manchester, where 10 percent reside, Merseyside, where 8 percent reside and Lancashire, where 8 percent reside. Besides England this surname occurs in 80 countries. It also occurs in The United States, where 33 percent reside and Australia, where 10 percent reside.

Houghton Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Houghton has changed over time. In England the number of people bearing the Houghton surname rose 194 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it rose 331 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Wales it rose 934 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it rose 798 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it rose 285 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Houghton Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those carrying the Houghton surname is primarily Anglican (37%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Houghton surname are 12.74% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 59.51% registered with the political party.

The amount Houghton earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 24.93% less than the national average, earning 259,812 kr per year; in Peru they earn 121.12% more than the national average, earning S/. 42,865 per year; in South Africa they earn 28.12% more than the national average, earning R 304,452 per year; in Colombia they earn 22.07% more than the national average, earning $27,713,700 COP per year; in United States they earn 8.41% more than the national average, earning $46,777 USD per year and in Canada they earn 10.22% more than the national average, earning $54,761 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Search for Another Surname

Houghton Reference & Research

Houghton FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Houghton
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis