Howard
Howard is a boy name of German origin, meaning Brave-hearted guardian.
What Howard means
Brave-hearted guardian.
Howard sits at 6 letters, and ends on a consonant, which gives it a firmer stop.
Where Howard comes from
German names are typically Germanic compounds, built from two elements — often one describing strength or protection and one describing a domain such as battle, home, or people.
Howard is recorded as German in origin. Browse other German names.
How popular is Howard?
Howard is not in the current top 100 boy names we track. In practice that means a child called Howard is unlikely to be one of three in a classroom — the name is established and recognisable, just not in heavy circulation right now.
The character of Howard
We group Howard under Brave and strength — an unusual pairing, and often the reason a name feels the way it does. Each theme opens a full list of names sharing it.
Names like Howard
These share Howard's themes, origin, or both — closest first.
- Bernard — Brave as a bear.
- Leonard — Brave as a lion.
- Richard — Brave ruler; strong in power.
- Emery — Industrious ruler; brave.
- Everett — Brave as a wild boar.
- Hung — Brave, heroic.
- Archie — Truly bold and brave.
- Valentina — Strong, healthy, brave.
- Heinrich — Ruler of the home.
- Hendrix — Ruler of the home.
- Bruno — Brown; a bear.
- Ernest — Serious and resolute.