Haworth

This is an English locational name, found mainly in Yorkshire and Lancashire. It originates from the famous village of Haworth, in West Yorkshire, and forever associated with the Bronte family in the early 19th century. The place name is recorded as 'Hauewrth' in 1209 and as 'Hawurth' in 1252. The derivation is from the Old English pre 7th century 'haga', meaning hedged enclosure or hawthorn hedge, plus 'worth', homestead. The surname 'Haworth' can also be found as a variant of the locational name 'Howarth', from a place so called in the parish of Rochdale, Lancashire. In this case the derivation is from the words 'hoh', meaning a mound. Locational names were dispersed around the country when bearers of the name left their original homes and went to live or work in another town. An interesting example of the surname is that of Adrian Hardy Haworth (1767-1833), entomologist and botanist, who founded the Entomological Society of London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert de Hawurth. This was dated 1200 a.d., in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire during the reign of King John, 1199-1216. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.