Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old English Hereward, meaning "army guard", and Old Norse Hávarðr, which means "high guard". The modern Norwegian equivalent is Håvard. A diminutive is "Howie" and its shortened form is "Ward". Between 1900 and 1960, Howard ranked in the U.S. Top 200; between 1960 and 1990, it ranked in the U.S. Top 400; between 1990 and 2004, it ranked in the U.S. Top 600. People with the given name Howard or its variants include:
