Contents

Howell Coat Of Arms

Motto: "Virtus in arduo" (Virture in difficulty)

Arms: Gules, three towers triple-towered argent.

Crest: Out of a ducal crown or, a rose argent stalked and leaved vert between two wings endorsed sable.

Family Names and Their Meanings

When surnames came into existence, they were added to given names to make them more specific and to indicate family relationship.   Most surnames fall into a few categories: (1) those formed from the given named of the sire; (2) those arising from bodily or personal characteristics; (3) those derived from locality or place of residence; and (4) those derived from occupation.

Reference:

1.  The Howell Kindred with the Gene of of Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency. Jan van Eys, Carolyn Jordan, Theresa Scott-Carter.    Unpublished genealogy.

2.  Searching for Your Ancestors.    Gilbert H. Doane and James B. Bell. University of Minnesota Press, 1980

3.  New Dictionary of American Family Names.   Eldon C. Smith. Harper and Row. new York, 1956.

4. A Dictionary of British Surnames, Second Revised Edition. P.H. Reaney. London and Boston, 1976

 In the sense of hereditary designations, surnames in England date from about the year 1000.  By the end of the twelfth century, however, hereditary names had become common in England, but were not universal even as late as the mid 1400's.

Prior to 1942, the Media Research Bureau (no longer in existence) of Washington, D.C. produced brief genealogies in typescript form.   From some of that material comes the following:

"The name of Howell was originally derived from the Welsh personal name of Hoel or Howell and was first taken as a surname by the sons of those so named.  It is found on the ancient British and early American records in the various forms of:

Hoel, Hoell, Hoelle, Howel, Howl, Howle, Howelle, Howells, Howell, and others

According to some authorities, the family traces its descent from on Howel Dda, or Howel the Good, who was King of Wales in the early tenth century, but this is, of course, based entirely upon tradition.

It is generally believed that most, if not all, of the Howell were of extremely ancient lineage and of Welsh origin at a remote period."

I have encountered other variants of the name of Howell such as Hywel, Hoyle, and Powell. Powell is, in fact, a contraction of ap Howell which means son of Howell.

Documentation of some of the early English and Welsh references to the name of Howell was given in the Eys-Jordan Genealogy (1).   Howell Dda (the Good), a king who lived in the tenth century is a well-known historical figure in Wales since he codified Welsh law under which Wales was governed for several centuries.(2) His descendants, or at least some of them, may be known.  One author states the following:

"Many Welsh pedigrees, traced back to the early kings of both North and South Wales, were handed on by trained bards for many generations before they were finally written down.  Historical scholarship has found the documentary proof that substantiates the authenticity and accuracy of many of those ancient pedigrees..."

"Howell, Howells, Howel (Eng., Wl.) Descendant of Howell (eminent), descendant of little How, a variant of Hugh (spirit, mind).

Howell Origins

At a time of the Piet invasion and conquest of Britain, tradition tells us: "The unwilling chiefs came to Aberdovey, that they sat in their chairs on the sea shore, to decide in solemn conclave who was to be the king of the isle of Britain—he who could sit longest in his chair in spite of the rising tide was to rule over all. Now Maeldav the Old had prepared for Maelgwn a chair made of waxed wings and it floated when all the other chairs had be thrown down."

Seven hundred years later the first great Council of Aberdovey met in "The marsh valley, surrounded by mountains glowing with furze and purple heather, haunted by traditions of mystic bells and by the winged throne of ancient Maelgwn Gwynedd, was a fitting meeting place for such an assembly."

This seems a frivolous introduction: but bear in mind that the Welsh as a nation were a patriotic, light hearted, song loving people, who fought for 1200 years to maintain their independence, before surrendering to England. Through their severe trials there still lingered a spark of poetic fire; and they preferred to lighten their hardships by exercising a keen imagination, rather that to dwell over much on sordid facts. "No other medieval literature shows at its onset the same elaborate and complete organization as that of the Welsh…but Celtic fancy plays with startling freedom. Its gay extravagance flings defiance to all fact, tradition, probability, and revels in the impossible and unreal."

Reference: Welsh History, and Mrs. Pittman’s "Americans of Gentle Birth and Their Ancestors". You will find that the Howell’s are entitled to a Coat of Arms.

Howel Sele, a descendant of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn was founder of the third royal tribe of Wales. He was Lord of the Nowvan in Merionethshire. Howel Sele fought Madog during the terrible insurrection of Owain Glyndur. Madog killed Howel Sele and put his body in the trunk of a large hollow oak tree. Madog told this story forty-years later to some of his listeners. They went to the place where he had said the body was and found a skeleton holding a rusty old sword.