Where does “Howson” come from?
Howson is an English surname derived from the personal name Hugh, which comes from Old French Hugues, itself from Germanic Hugi meaning "mind" or "spirit."
Ancestry of “Howson”, step by step
Howson traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Sơn
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Sơn | — |
| 2 | Middle English | sone | son; soon; Alternative form of sonne |
| 3 | Old English | sōna | immediately, at once |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | sān(ō) | immediately |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sēna | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *sa | — |
| 7 | Proto-Austronesian | *əsa | — |
| 8 | Proto-Oceanic | *isa | — |
via English Hugh
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Hugh | — |
| 2 | Old French | Hughe | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | hugiz | mind, thought, sense, understanding |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱk-í-s ~ ḱk-éy-s | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱek- | to be able, capable |