Howley Surname

58,014th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 8,722 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Ireland

Howley Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Howley'; v. Hooley.

Johannes de Houlay, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Howley Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States3,7581:96,45010,780
England1,7271:32,2634,301
Ireland1,2251:3,844663
Australia6941:38,8995,051
Dominican Republic3081:33,8731,918
Canada2571:143,36814,728
South Africa1761:307,82829,442
Scotland1691:31,6793,205
New Zealand1671:27,1164,736
Wales961:32,2353,244
Northern Ireland341:54,2664,423
France211:3,162,987209,042
Papua New Guinea211:388,27250,829
India161:47,941,586492,263
Norway91:571,36544,190
Thailand81:8,829,793476,604
Sweden71:1,406,680102,017
United Arab Emirates41:2,290,56860,372
Brazil41:53,518,583632,670
Netherlands31:5,629,059132,535
Philippines21:50,619,112341,003
Czechia21:5,316,734169,646
Spain21:23,376,018128,922
Guatemala21:8,041,3349,698
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Argentina11:42,743,414282,706
China11:1,367,321,56651,149
Ukraine11:45,522,696503,646
Sudan11:37,510,19514,259
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Egypt11:91,935,754132,737
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
Gabon11:1,889,1946,814
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland8091:5,476907
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England6191:39,3795,026
Scotland231:162,7496,621
Wales41:392,10412,338
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States8411:59,7136,599

Howley (19) may also be a first name.

Howley Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Howley'; v. Hooley.

Johannes de Houlay, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

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

(Teutonic) Dweller at the How or Hough Lea [v. How, Hough, and + Middle English ley, Old English leáh]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Ó hUallaigh This name belongs to Connacht and Clare. The English toponymic Howley is very rarely the origin of the name in Ireland. SIF 93

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

Woulfe equates this name with the Irish Ó hUallaigh, which he suggests may be an abbreviated variant of Ó hUallacháin (Houlihan), O'Houlig occurs in a Fiant of 1581 relating to Co. Cork, where O'Houlihans were and are numerous, but for the most part Howleys are found in north Connacht with some in Galway and Clare. There is an English surname Howley derived from a place of that name, but our Irish Howleys, at any rate those in the west are not of that descent: the use of the form O'Howley with the prefix O, e.g. in Fiant 5799 relating to Co. Mayo, indicates a Gaelic origin. In modern times Wholey has been used as a synonym of Howley and this may give a clue to the curious equation of Howley and Wylie in east Clare. The most prominent men of the name Howley have not been of Connacht.

John Howley an officer in Butler's infantry regiment of King James II's Irish army was presumably from Co. Kilkenny or Co. Tipperary and Henry Howley (c. 1774-1803),executed for his part in the Robert Emmet rising, was born at Roscrea. Two officers of the name also appear in the army lists to be found in the Ormond manuscripts of 1644 and 1664. Some have been distinguished churchmen: Robert Howley was abbot of Mothel, Co. Waterford, in 1440, and William Howley, PP. of Fethard, Co. Tipperary, was vicar-general of the archdiocese of Cashel as we know from a sworn anti-papist information of 1744.

In the Clonakilty (Co. Cork) district some O'Driscoll families acquired the agnomen Whooley which has now become a hereditary surname. In the forms Whooley, Whooly, Wholey and Wholy it appears quite frequently in the birth registrations for west Cork since compulsory registration was introduced in 1864.

Supplement to Irish Families (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

Ó hUallaigh This name belongs to Connacht and Clare. The English toponymic Howley is very rarely the origin of the name in Ireland. SIF 93

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

(English) One who came from Howle (hill), in Shropshire.

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

A river in Cheshire.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Gislebert de Houlei, Norm. 1198 (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae). John Houle, Engl. c. 1272 (Rotuli Hundredorum). Hence William Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Norman People (1874)

Howley Last Name Facts

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

The last name Howley is more commonly found in The United States than any other country or territory. It can also be found as:. Click here for further possible spellings of this last name.

How Common Is The Last Name Howley? popularity and diffusion

Howley is the 58,014th most commonly held surname on a worldwide basis, held by approximately 1 in 835,536 people. The last name Howley occurs mostly in The Americas, where 50 percent of Howley reside; 46 percent reside in North America and 46 percent reside in Anglo-North America. Howley is also the 2,523,061st most commonly occurring first name worldwide It is held by 19 people.

Howley is most widely held in The United States, where it is borne by 3,758 people, or 1 in 96,450. In The United States it is most prevalent in: New York, where 12 percent are found, Pennsylvania, where 9 percent are found and New Jersey, where 8 percent are found. Aside from The United States this surname occurs in 33 countries. It is also found in England, where 20 percent are found and Ireland, where 14 percent are found.

Howley Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Howley has changed over time. In The United States the number of people who held the Howley surname expanded 447 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it expanded 279 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Ireland it expanded 151 percent between 1901 and 2014; in Scotland it expanded 735 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Wales it expanded 2,400 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Howley Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the last name is principally Catholic (98%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Howley last name are 4.68% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 51.45% being registered with the party.

The amount Howley earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 139.72% more than the national average, earning 829,612 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 48.04% less than the national average, earning R 123,480 per year; in United States they earn 15.85% more than the national average, earning $49,986 USD per year and in Canada they earn 8.56% more than the national average, earning $53,936 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Chowley92111/
Khowley921/
Howlley920/
Howle913,203/
Howly911,236/
Owley9151/
Howelley8649/
Chhowley8614/
Hawley8336,436/
Hobley831,514/
Howles83710/
Hovley8379/
Chowly8357/
Chowle8313/
Hewley8311/
Howlie8311/
Howled838/
Howleh836/
Howlee833/
Khowly832/
Howlly832/
Ouwley831/
Howlae831/
Ahwley831/
Howlay831/
Howliy831/
Howlya831/
Owleye831/
Owloey831/
Howlez830/
Owle80165/
Owly802/
Chawley7767/
Chowlay7753/
Howleit7730/
Chowler7726/
Chowlya777/
Howelle776/
Hawlley774/
Howlles772/
Owelley771/
Chowlee771/
Howlepp771/
Howlerr771/
Howller771/
Hoowler771/
Hoswler771/
Howloyd771/
Khowlie771/
Howlets770/
Howleth770/
Hoobley770/
Howllet770/
Haawley770/
Howlead770/
Howless770/
Obley73789/
Hoble73781/
Hawle73447/
Howli73320/
Hawly73152/
Awley7319/
Howla7312/
Hobly738/
Owled737/
Hovle733/
Ewley732/
Owlee731/
Ojwly731/
Hewle731/
Hewly731/
Ohwle731/
Owlea731/
Ouwle731/
Owlya731/
Oiwle731/
Owleh731/
Owlie731/
Oywle731/
Gowly730/
Ovley730/
Owlle730/
Howiller7155/
Chhawley7119/
Chhowlay719/
Choubley719/
Howllett712/
Chowliya711/
O'Willey711/
Hubley673,083/
Chowla671,073/
Owlett67280/
Owelle67177/
Khawle67165/
Höwler6797/
Chawle6796/
Owilly6783/
Hohwiller6757/
Chowli6756/
Hoblea6754/
Habley6749/
Howlid6740/
Hovler6714/
Havley6711/
Hobleu6711/
Chawly6710/
Khowla676/
Hawlhe676/
Huvley675/
Hawles674/
Choble673/
Howlad672/
Hawlye672/
Owelly672/
Hawlly672/
Houble672/
Awleya672/
Owliyo672/
Ojwele672/
Govley671/
Hawlay671/
Owless671/
Hawlez671/
Hovles671/
Howlia671/
Hevley671/
Hoovle671/
Eewley671/
Gowloy671/
Ouwlee671/
Jowleh671/
Oywele671/
Haawle671/
Hewhle671/
Hawlei671/
Owille671/
Awlley671/
Awleye671/
Jobley670/
Abhley670/
Hoevle670/
Chovle670/
Hawloy670/
Hewlly670/
Hoobly670/
Owlepp670/

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Howley Reference & Research

Hawley DNA Website - A web page dedicated to the genetic research of those who bear the surname and its variants.

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

Howley 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 Howley
  • 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