William Ho

(male) Probably the most successful of all the Old French names of Germanic origin that were introduced to England by the Normans. It is derived from Germanic wil ‘will, desire’ + helm ‘helmet, protection’. The fact that it was borne by the Conqueror himself does not seem to have inhibited its favour with the ‘conquered’ population: in the first century after the Conquest it was the commonest male name of all, and not only among the Normans. In the later Middle Ages it was overtaken by John, but continued to run second to that name until the 20th century, when the picture became more fragmented.

Korean (Hŏ): there is only one Chinese character for the Hŏ surname. Some records indicate that there are fiftynine Hŏ clans, but only four have been identified and documented. All four clans descend from the same founding ancestor. In AD48, a sixteen-year-old Indian princess is said to have arrived by boat on the shores of Korea. The Karak Kingdom's King Suro married the woman, and out of respect for her origins allowed the second of their ten children to retain his mother's surname, Hŏ. The Hŏ surname is very common and is widely distributed throughout the Korean peninsula.