the name haukáss is documented since 1379, when one of the farms is mentioned in a letter of 17 june 1379 published in the "diplomatarium norvegicum", although the name is likely a good deal older than the 14th century, possibly dating back to the 1st millennium. spelling variants include "haukáss", "haukas" (1379, 1396), "haggaaiß" (ca. 1475), "houkaas" (1574), "hogaas" (1593), "hockaas" (1604), "hogos" (1609), "hachos" (1610), "haagaas" (1612), "hochaas" (1723), "haakaas", "hokaas" and the current "håkås". the spelling "haagaas" () was commonly used until the early 20th century. the sound (represented by "au" in writing) in the first syllable was changed to (represented by "å" in modern norwegian) under the influence of the vowel in the second syllable, during or around the 16th century. the modern norwegian spelling of haukáss would be "haukås".