Howard

“High guardian” — Old Norse via Middle English origin

Boy's name · #1004 in the US (2025) · Heirloom

Howard belongs to an older America first — it reached #24 back in 1919 — yet it still appears in today's records at #1004. About 347,000 boys have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Howie is a short form of Howard.

Around the world: about 1 in 11,000 boys in Canada (2024).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 20 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Howards

Howard Carter — British egyptologist (1874–1939)
Howard Hughes — American aviator, engineer, industrialist, and film producer (1905–1976)
Howard Florey — Australian pathologist (1898-1968)
Howard Hawks — American film director, producer and screenwriter (1896–1977)
Howard Zinn — American historian, playwright, and socialist thinker (1922–2010)

In stories & tradition

Howard the Duck — Guardians of the Galaxy · Howard the Duck
Howard Wolowitz — The Big Bang Theory
Howard Stark — Earth-616

What Howards become

Among 2,397 notable people named Howard:

Lawyers & judges appear 1.36× more often than among typical names — e.g. Howard Lincoln, American lawyer and businessman.

Similar names: Ralph · Stanley · Harold · Clifford · Bernard · Leonard

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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