William, son of Roger Fitz Valevine, took the name of Howard from being born in the Castle of Howard, in Wales, in the time of Henry I. Spelman derives Howard from Hof-ward, the keeper of a hall; Vestegan, from Hold-ward, the keeper of a stronghold; Camden, from Hoch-ward, the high keeper.

Arthur, William (1857) An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. New York: Sheldon, Blakeman. Public Domain.

HOWARD. This noble historical name has been a sore puzzle to etymologists. See Eng. Surn. i. 133. A writer in the Quarterly Rev. vol. OIL says, the family " may be Saxon, may be Danish." They are more probablj' of Norwegian origin. Havard or Haavard was a common personal name among the Northmen. " It appears," says Laing, "to be the English name Howard, and left by them in Northumberland and East Auglia." Heimskringla. vol. i. p. 410, The seventeenth-century genealogists laboured hard to proAe a Norman origin for this illustrious race, but authentic VQcords extend back no farther than the XIII, cent., when the Howards rose into eminence in Norfolk ; (See Peerage,) though Houardus, the Essex under-tenant of Domesday may be cited on that side.

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.