How common is the surname Howells?

2,961 people in the United States had the surname Howells in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 104,271 Americans. It ranked 10,772nd of 162,253 surnames.

Is the surname Howells getting more or less common?

More common. 2,848 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,961 in 2010, up 4.0%.

Is Howells also a first name?

Yes. Howells is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Howells

A patronymic surname, carried by 2,961 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex H420

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Howells is more common than 93.4% of them.

Origin

From the given name Howell + patronymic suffix -s.

Howells is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 2,961 people named Howells in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 104,271 Americans. That is up 4.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 2,848.

#10,772

rank among US surnames

2,961

people in 2010

1.0

per 100,000 Americans

+4%

change since 2000 (was #10,363)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#10,763	Campanella	2,964	104,165
#10,765	Center	2,963	104,200
#10,769	Collinsworth	2,962	104,235
#10,772	Baranowski	2,961	104,271
#10,777	Petrosky	2,960	104,306
#10,779	Collin	2,959	104,341

Who is named Howells

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

93% of people named Howells identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.5% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 93%
Black (not Hispanic) 2.5%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
Two or more races 1.4%

The Census suppresses very small shares to protect privacy; Asian & Pacific Islander, Native American are not shown.

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Howells

Howells has the Soundex code H420, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code H420.

Questions

Where does the surname Howells come from?: From the given name Howell + patronymic suffix -s.
How common is the surname Howells?: 2,961 people in the United States had the surname Howells in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 104,271 Americans. It ranked 10,772nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Howells?: In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named Howells identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.5% as Black (not Hispanic).
What type of surname is Howells?: Howells is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Howells getting more or less common?: More common. 2,848 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,961 in 2010, up 4.0%.
Is Howells also a first name?: Yes. Howells is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.