where does the last name howard originate from
Howard (surname) Howard is a common English language surname. Its origins are uncertain. One theory is that it derived from the French personal name Huard and Houard (compare the Anglo-Norman spellings of coward for French couard; tower for tour) adapting after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Another theory is that its origin may be pre 7th century Germanic from the personal name Hughard (prefix hug, meaning "heart"/"spirit"; suffix hard, meaning "hardy"/"brave"). Yet another theory is that the surname derived from the Anglo-Scandinavian personal name Haward (Old Norse Hávarðr, Old Danish Hawarth, element Há(r) "high" or hǫð "battle"; element varðr, meaning "guardian").[1] The first public record of the surname is dated 1221 in Cambridgeshire. There are several variant surname spellings.[2]