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The surname Howland is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational surname deriving from any one of the various places in England called Holland or Hoyland, such as those in Essex, Lancashire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. These places are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1085 as "Holanda, Holand, Hoiland", and "Holant", respectively. All the places so called share the same meaning and derivation, which is "land on or by a ridge", from the Olde English pre 7th Century "hoh", ridge, spur of a hill, with "land", and. Locational surnames were acquired by local landowners, and the lord of the manor, and especially by those former inhabitants of a place who had settled elsewhere, and used the name of their birthplace as a means of identification. The placename Holland has generated a number of surnames, ranging from Holland and Hollands to Howland and Hoyland.
Variations: Holland, Holanda, Hollanda, Holand, Holant
It should be noted that, despite similarities in their geographical sprawl, a connection has not been found between the Howland family and the various families stemming from Lancashire named de Holand/Holand and de Holland/Holland.