The Howcutt & Howcott surname

• Possible origins
• Where the family moved
• Spelling variations
• American versions
• Other surnames that may be linked
• Howcutt as a forename

About 123 Howcutts were living in England, Wales and Scotland at the beginning of 2006. They all owe their surname to one or another of:

• Mark Michael Howcutt (1837-1897)

• Frederick William Howcutt (1886-1931)

• Charles Howcutt (1841-1910)

Mark and Charles both grew up at Brixworth, Northamptonshire. Frederick William's grandfather had also come from that village. The branches of the Howcutt family that originated from places other than Brixworth have either died out in England or do not spell their name as Howcutt any more. These families were to be found at places including Coventry, Lichfield and Birmingham.

In past centuries, a large proportion of children died in infancy. Only two of the nine brothers and sisters of William Howcutt (1726-1782) of Brixworth survived to get married; if he too had died young there would be no Howcutts living in Britain today.

Possible origins

There is no proof of the origin of the Howcutt surname. The main possibilities are:

• it could come from the surname Harcourt (which was found in latter Middle Ages in south Leicestershire where Howcutts later emerged), or 

• a place name

Some villages that might have inspired the surname are:

• Holcot, Northamptonshire  

• Hulcott, Buckinghamshire  

• Huncote, Leicestershire

Where the family moved

The earliest probable reference to the family is in 1474 at Coventry. At first, Hulcot and similar spellings were used there but by the late 1500s Howcott was generally adopted there.  

The 1524 lay subsidy taxation list for Leicestershire includes William Hulcott at Husbands Bosworth and Thomas Harcatt at Claybrooke. These places are within a few miles of villages where Howcotts lived in the second half of the 16th century, so these people are probably related to the family.

The earliest record of the surname at Bitteswell, Leicestershire is dated 1568. It is likely that the Howcotts who lived nearby at Shearsby during the 17th century were related to the Bitteswell branch.

A Howcott family is recorded at Lichfield, Staffordshire from the early 1670s and remained there until 1729. Edward Howcott (c1645-1729) of Lichfield was a freeman of Coventry and so had probably come from that city. It is likely that he was an ancestor of the Howcutts who lived at Birmingham until 1878. There is strong circumstantial evidence that the brothers John and Edward Howcott who arrived at Edenton, North Carolina around 1700 were sons of this Edward.

James Howcutt, who arrived at Brixworth, Northamptonshire by 1721, had almost certainly been born at Shearsby.

During the period from about around 1800 onwards, a number of Brixworth Howcutts moved 70 miles south to London on a temporary or permanent basis. In the early 19^th century, descendants of the Bitteswell branch established themselves in Leicester.

Migration continued at a greater pace during the course of the 19^th century, no doubt helped by the growing railway system. Army service took some men as far afield as Jamaica and India. The furthest permanent moves were:

• James Howcutt - Brixworth to Tasmania, 1827

• John Howcutt (of Scotland) - Liverpool to New York, 1835

• Sarah Ann Howcutt - Brixworth to Australia about 1880

During the past hundred years, people moved home more often and over longer distances. New clusters of Howcutts formed at Lambeth, Wiltshire, Bradford and Paisley. The last Howcutt at Brixworth died in 1900, the same year as the final descendant of the Bitteswell branch expired at Leicester. Since then very few Howcutts have lived anywhere in the original heartland of Leicestershire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire - and then only for a few years.

Spelling variations

Between 1474 and 1511, records at Coventry mention the surname Hulcot or Holcot(e). These are probably versions of the name Howcott that is found there from 1578 onwards.  

The Howcott spelling is first found at Bitteswell in 1572, though Howcote was more usual there until after 1600. During the 17^th century, spelling there gravitated to Howcott before settling as Howcutt during the 18^th century. At Shearsby, a similar pattern is found with Howcutt first appearing in 1698.

Before the 1700s, spellings were not standardised, even amongst people who could read and write. In 1627, “Robert Howcotte” provided the earliest signature of a family member. However, the same person wrote his surname as Holcott when making his will in 1655. 

The next known autograph is by “William Howcott”, who was a churchwarden and the register of Shearsby in 1673. An example of his handwriting appears below  

"The Register of the Mariages Births and Burialls of the Inhabitants of Sheasby beginning in the yeare 1673 / Will. Howcott Register"

The spelling Howcutt is first found in 1698, when James was christened at Shearsby. His father was a churchwarden there in the previous year and signed his name as "Will. Howcut". 

After the family reached Brixworth in 1720, they lived only a few miles from the village of Holcot. Spellings of the surname in the Brixworth parish records during the 18^th century often started with "Hol-" or "Hal-".

By 1800, the surname was normally spelled Howcutt in England and has remained so ever since. The only Howcott entries to be found in the births, marriages and deaths registered in England and Wales from 1837 onwards record people whose surnames were usually given as Howcutt, apart from one American Howcott who was born in England. 

American versions

It is probable that all the Howcotts currently living in the USA have their surname through one of two brothers, John & Edward Howcott, who arrived in the area of Edenton, North Carolina around 1700.

There are probably about 70 Howcotts currently living in the USA. The majority are descendants of Miles Howcott (c1830-1905) or Benjamin Howcott (c1850-1890), who both lived at or near Plymouth, North Carolina and were released from slavery at the time of the American Civil War.

A much larger number of Americans bear surnames such as Hocutt and Hocott that are, at least in many cases, variations of Howcott.

Other surnames that may be linked

It is possible that the Hawcutt family may be distantly related. 

The surnames Orcott, Orcutt, Aucott and Aucutt also may be connected to the Howcutt family. Extensive information on the Orcott and similar surnames can be found on Joel Orcutt's website.

Howcutt as a forename

The earliest record found of Howcutt or Howcott being used as a christian name was written in 1726, when Raphael Howcott of Coventry made his will and remembered a relation by the name of Howcott Longworth.

The FreeBMD website is in the process of indexing the births, marriages and deaths that were registered in England and Wales from July 1837 to 1910. So far, the index includes over 163 distinct records. One of the ways that you can search this index by forename. The entries on the tables below show all those in the index where Howcutt was one of a person's forenames.

The month shown under the heading "quarter registered" is the final month of the relevant 3-month period.

Irish marriage

"The Cork Examiner", 6 June 1863, records the marriage at Cloyne Cathedral, Ireland on 4 June 1863 of W. Howcutt Perkins, Esq., of Westfield House, Arnesby, Leicestershire to Caroline Jane, daughter of John Wilkinson, Esq., of Barnabrow.

1984-2004

The birth marriage and death indexes for England and Wales have been searched for the period 1984-2004 and one entry has been found of a person with Howcutt as a forename:

• William Howcutt Austin (born 10 May 1907) - death registered in May 1988 at Leicestershire Central.

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