Howard

This article is about the given name. For the surname, see Howard (surname). For other uses, see Howard (disambiguation).

Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for it except that it is the name of several noble families".^[1] The surname has a number of possible origins; in the case of the noble family, the likely source is the Norse given name Hávarðr, composed of the elements há ("high") and varðr ("guardian").^[2]

Diminutives include Howie and Ward. Howard reached peak popularity in the United States in the 1920s, when it ranked as the 26th most popular boys' name. As of 2018, it had fallen to 968th place.^[3]

People with the given name

• Howard Allen (1949–2020), American serial killer
• Howard Duane Allman (1946–1971), American guitar virtuoso
• Howard Anderson (disambiguation), name of several people
• Howard Andrew (1934–2021), American poker player
• Howard Ashman (1950–1991), American playwright, lyricist and stage director
• Howard Baker (disambiguation), name of several people
• Howard Berman (born 1941), American attorney and politician
• Howard Bragman (1956–2023), American crisis manager and publicist
• Howard W. Brill (born 1943), chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court
• Howard Graham Buffett (born 1954), American businessman, politician, philanthropist, photographer, farmer, and conservationist
• Howard Burnett (athlete) (born 1961), Jamaican track and field athlete
• Howard J. Burnett (1929–2019), American president of Washington & Jefferson College
• Howard Carpendale (born 1946), German singer
• Howard Carter (disambiguation), name of several people
• Howard Chaykin (born 1950), American comic book artist and writer
• Howard Y T Cheng (born 1981), champion apprentice jockey in Hong Kong
• Howard Cosell (1918–1995), sports broadcaster
• Howard "Ward" Cunningham (born 1949), American founder of WikiWikiWeb
• Howard B. Cushing (1838–1871), American soldier during the Civil War
• Howard David (fl. 1990s–2010s), American sportscaster
• Howard Davies (disambiguation), name of several people
• Howard Davis (disambiguation), name of several people
• Howard Dean (born 1948), American politician
• Howard Donald (born 1968), English singer
• Howard Devoto (born Howard Trafford, 1952), English singer-songwriter
• Howard Duff (1913–1990), American actor
• Howard Eastman (born 1970), Guyanese-British boxer
• Howard Ehmke (1894–1959), American baseball pitcher
• Howard Eisenberg (born 1926), American author and journalist
• Howard Eisley (born 1972), American basketball player and coach
• Howard Engel (1931–2019), Canadian mystery writer
• Howard Eskin (born 1951), American sports radio personality
• Howard Evans (disambiguation), name of several people
• Howard Fast (1914–2003) American novelist and television writer
• Howard Fineman (1948–2024), American journalist and television commentator
• Howard Florey (1898–1968), Australian pharmacologist
• Howard Gardner (born 1943), American developmental psychologist
• Howard Goodall (born 1958), British musician, musicologist and TV presenter
• Howard Grant (boxer) (born 1966), Jamaican-Canadian boxer
• Howard Hanson (1896–1981), American composer, conductor, educator, and music theorist
• Howard Hawks (1896–1977), American producer
• Howard Hesseman (1940–2022), American actor
• Howard Hotson (fl. 2000–2020s), British historian
• Howard A. Howe (1901–1976), American virologist
• Howard Hughes (1905–1976), American aviation pioneer and film mogul
• Howard Jacobson (born 1942), British novelist and journalist
• Howard Johnson (disambiguation), name of several people
• Howard Jones (disambiguation), name of several people
• Howard Judd (1935–2007), American physician and medical researcher
• Howard Kazanjian (born 1942), Armenian-American film producer
• Howard Keel (1919–2004), singer and actor born Harry Keel
• Howard Kendall (1946–2015), English football player and manager
• Howard Kirshbaum (born 1938), associate justice of the Colorado Supreme Court
• Howard Andrew Knox (1885–1949), American physician
• Howard Kurtz (born 1953), American journalist and author
• Howard Lassoff (1955–2013), American-Israeli basketball player
• Howard Lederer (born 1964), professional poker player
• Howard Lesnick (1931–2020), American, Jefferson B. Fordham Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
• Howard Long (1905–1939), American convicted murderer
• H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937), American writer (full name Howard Phillips Lovecraft)
• Howard Lutnick (born 1961), United States Secretary of Commerce
• Howard Hamilton Mackey (1901–1987), American architect, educator
• Howard McNear (1905–1969), American radio and television actor
• Howard Marks (1945–2016), teacher, drug smuggler and author
• Howard Matthews (1885–1963), English footballer
• Howard W. Mattson (1927–1998), American chemist and journalist
• Howard Metzenbaum (1917–2008) American politician and businessman
• Howard Morris (1919–2005), American actor, comedian, and director
• Howard T. Odum (1924–2002), American ecologist
• Howard Payne (athlete) (1931–1992), English hammer thrower
• Howard Pyle (1853–1911), American illustrator, painter, and author
• Howard Schatz, American fine art photographer
• Anne Rice (1941–2021), born Howard O'Brien, American author
• Howard Roberts (1929–1992) American guitarist, educator, and session musician
• Howard Schultz (born 1953), American businessman and CEO of Starbucks
• Howard Shane, American Autism researcher
• Howard Shore (born 1946), Canadian composer
• Howard Sims (1917–2003) African-American tap dancer
• Howard da Silva (1909–1986), American actor, director and musical performer
• Howard Smalley (born 1942), New Zealand cricketer
• Howard Smith (disambiguation), name of several people
• Howard Smothers (born 1973), American football player
• Howard Spira, American gambler who was paid by George Steinbrenner to find dirt on baseball player Dave Winfield
• Howard Stableford (born 1959), British television and radio presenter
• Howard Staunton (1810–1874), British chess player and Shakespearean scholar
• Howard Stern (born 1954), American talk-radio host
• Howard K. Stern (born 1968), attorney for Anna Nicole Smith
• Howard Stidham (born 1954), American football player
• Howard Stupp (born 1955), Canadian Olympic wrestler
• Howard Tayler (born 1968), American cartoonist
• Howard Turner (1897–1976), American football player
• Howard Unruh (1921–2009), American spree killer
• Howard Van Smith (1909–1987), American journalist
• Howard Wales (1943–2020), American musician
• Howard Walker (disambiguation), name of several people
• Howard Walter (1883–1918), American Congregationalist minister and hymnist
• Howard Washington (born 1998), American-Canadian basketball player
• Howard Watt (1911–2005), South African rugby union player
• Howard Watts III (born 1987), American politician
• Howard Webb (born 1971), English professional football referee
• Howard Weyers (1934–2018), American football player and assistant coach
• Howard Wilkinson (born 1943), English football manager
• Howard Williams (disambiguation), name of several people
• Howard Wilson (American football) (born 1995), American football player
• Howard Wilson (physicist), British physicist
• Howard Zinn (1922–2010), American historian, academic, author, playwright, and social activist

People known as Howie

• Howie B (born 1963), Scottish musician and producer Howard Bernstein
• Howie Carr (born 1952), American journalist
• Howie Day (born 1981), American singer-songwriter
• Howie Dorough (born 1973), American musician with Backstreet Boys
• Howie Epstein (1955–2003), American musician
• Howie Gordon (later known as Richard Pacheco), American pornographic actor
• Howie Hawkins, American politician and activist
• Howie Long (born 1960), American former football player and actor
• Howie Mandel (born 1955), Canadian comedian and actor, host of the TV show Deal or No Deal
• Howie Meeker (1923–2020), Canadian hockey player, TV sports announcer, Member of Parliament
• Howie Morenz (1902–1937), Canadian ice hockey player
• Howie Nave (born 1956), American comedian, radio personality, writer, promoter and movie critic
• Howie Rose (born 1954), American sportscaster
• Howie Severino (born 1961), Filipino broadcast journalist
• Howie Winter (1929–2020), American mobster

Fictional characters

• Howard Bellamy (Doctors), in the British soap opera Doctors
• Howard Clifford, a fictional villain in the Detective Pikachu movie
• Howard Cunningham (Happy Days), in the TV series Happy Days
• Howard DeVille, in the animated series Rugrats
• Howard Hamlin, a fictional character on the AMC television series Better Call Saul
• Howard Huge, a comic strip dog
• Howard Hunter, in the TV series Hill Street Blues, played by James B. Sikking
• Howard Langston, in the 1996 film Jingle All the Way
• Howard McBride, in the animated series The Loud House
• Howard McGreggor, in the TV series Fresh Meat (TV series)
• Howard Moon, in the TV series The Mighty Boosh, portrayed by Julian Barratt
• Howard Nichols, a character in the 1981 American made-for-television movie Fallen Angel
• Howard Roark, protagonist of Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead
• Howard Stark, father of Tony Stark/Iron Man
• Howard Wolowitz, a fictional character on the CBS television series The Big Bang Theory, portrayed by actor Simon Helberg.
• Howard the Duck, a comic book character
• Howard Link, a "Crow" and Inspector for the Black Order in the anime/manga D. Gray Man
• Howard Marner, a fictional character from Short Circuit (1986 film)
• Howard Silk, main character and agent in the TV series Counterpart (TV series)