Family name origins & meanings
- English : topographic name for someone who lived on a heath, from Middle English hōth ‘heath’, Old English hāð, a byform of hǣð (see Heath). This form was restricted in the Middle Ages to southeastern England, and the surname is still largely confined to Kent and Sussex. In some cases it may be a habitational name from the village of Hoath in Kent, which is named with this word.