Houghton

English

Etymology

From Old English hōh (“ridge, spur”) + tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”).

Pronunciation

• (Michigan) IPA^(key): /ˈhoʊtən/

Proper noun

Houghton (countable and uncountable, plural Houghtons)

1. A common placename:
   1. A number of places in the United Kingdom:
      1. A village in Houghton and Wyton parish, Cambridgeshire, England (OS grid ref TL281724).
      2. A village in Stanwix Rural parish, Cumbria, England (OS grid ref NY407593).
      3. A hamlet in Sancton parish, East Riding of Yorkshire, England (OS grid ref SE886392).
      4. A village and civil parish in Test Valley district, Hampshire, England (OS grid ref SU341143).
      5. A village and civil parish in King's Lynn and West Norfolk district, Norfolk, England (OS grid ref TF789288).
      6. A hamlet in Heddon-on-the-Wall parish, southern Northumberland, England (OS grid ref NZ1266).
      7. A village and civil parish in Arun district, West Sussex, England (OS grid ref TQ017411).
      8. A village in Burton community, Pembrokeshire, Wales (OS grid ref SM9807).
   2. A town near Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
   3. A number of places in the United States:
      1. A minor city in Lee County, Iowa.
      2. A city, the county seat of Houghton County, Michigan, on the Upper Peninsula.
      3. A township in Keweenaw County, Michigan.
      4. A hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Caneadea, Allegany County, New York.
      5. An unincorporated community in Brown County, South Dakota.
      6. A neighbourhood of the city of Kirkland, Washington.
2. A habitational surname from Old English.

Derived terms

• Great Houghton
• Hanging Houghton
• Houghton and Wyton
• Houghton Conquest
• Houghton County
• Houghton-le-Spring
• Houghton Regis
• Houghton Saint Giles
• Little Houghton

 

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Houghton is the 3228^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 11184 individuals. Houghton is most common among White (92.52%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Houghton”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 2, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 206.