Explore the Family Name Howald

The meaning of Howald

German: habitational name from any of several places so named, for example in Westphalia and Baden, or a topographic name from Middle High German hō ‘high’ + walt ‘forest’. This surname is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine).

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Howald in the United States?

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Howald saw a slight decrease between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Howald was ranked 33,653rd in terms of popularity among surnames, but by 2010, it had fallen to 36,204th. The number of people with this surname also decreased slightly over the decade from 639 to 619, a drop of 3.13%. As a proportion per 100,000 people, the surname declined by 12.5%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#33,653	#36,204	-7.58%
Count	639	619	-3.13%
Proportion per 100k	0.24	0.21	-12.5%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Howald

As for the ethnicity associated with the surname Howald, the census data shows some changes between 2000 and 2010. While the vast majority of individuals with this surname identified as White (93.27% in 2000 and 92.41% in 2010), there was a noticeable increase in those identifying with two or more races - jumping from 1.41% in 2000 to 2.75% in 2010. Meanwhile, the percentage identifying as Hispanic rose from 2.66% to 3.88%. There were no individuals with this surname who identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year, while the percentage identifying as Black fell from 2.35% in 2000 to zero in 2010. This information is based on the Decennial U.S. Census.

	2000	2010	Change
White	93.27%	92.41%	-0.92%
Hispanic	2.66%	3.88%	45.86%
Two or More Races	1.41%	2.75%	95.04%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	2.35%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%