Houston (surname)

Houston is a surname of Scottish origin. In the mountains of Scotland's west coast and on the Hebrides islands, the ancestors of the Houston family were born. Clan Houston comes from the medieval Scottish given name Hugh. Houston is a patronymic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. In general, patronyms were derived from either the first name of the father of the bearer, or from the names of famous religious and secular figures. By and large, surnames descending from one's father's name were the most common. The surname also came from the place called Houston, Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. In Old English, the name Houston, meant the settlement belonging to Hugh.