- 189
- people in the U.S. have this name Get contact details for people named Howard Murphy
Meaning & Origins
Transferred use of the surname of an English noble family. The surname has a large number of possible origins, but in the case of the noble family early forms often have the spelling Haward, and so it is probably from a Scandinavian personal name derived from hā ‘high’ + varðr ‘guardian’. (The traditional derivation from the Old English name Hereweard ‘army guardian’ is untenable.) It is now a widespread given name.
| 245th in the U.S. for 2011 |
Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Murchadha ‘descendant of Murchadh’, a personal name composed of the elements muir ‘sea’ + cath ‘battle’, i.e. ‘sea-warrior’. This was an important family in Tyrone.
| 56th in the U.S. for 2011 |
Nicknames & variations
Howars, Horace, Howark, Howarde, Howardd, Howarda, Howardy, Howards, Horacio, Howardia
Murphey, Murphree, Murph, Morphew, Murff, Murphrey, Morphy, Morf, Murphee, Marfia
Top state populations
U.S. Distribution Map
