Hodgson (Surname)
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In Britain, the Hodgson surname was the 173rd most common (766 per million) in 1881 and the 206th most common (650 per million) in 1998.[1]
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[edit] Origin and Meaning
The surname authority P. H. Reaney (1958, p. 166) states that Hodgson is derived from "son of Hodge" and that Hodge, in turn, is a "pet-form of Roger". This view has been repeated by others, and Reaney (1967) himself.
But Roger is a Norman French name and by contrast the Hodgsons are most numerous in Cumbria in England, which was settled by the Norse Vikings in the tenth century. (See [2] for geographical distribution maps of the Hodgson surname inn 1881 and 1998.] Hodgson could thus be derived from the Norse name Oddgeir, as suggested by earlier surname authorities.
One of the earliest Victorian surname studies is by Mark Lower (1842, p. 96) who suggests that Hodgson may come from "son of Roger" but immediately adds "if not from Odo."
In a more extensive discussion of the surname, Robert Ferguson (1858) entertains a number of possibilities concerning its origin. One is to connect it to the Scandinavian first name Odda. Ferguson notes (1858, p. 225) that this name, although frequently appearing before the Norman Conquest, does not appear to be a word in the Anglo-Saxon language. He writes: "Might it not be from Old Norse oddr, a dart or arrow, whence Oddr and Oddi, common Scandinavian names?"
In two editions of his major work on British surnames, Henry Barber (1894, p. 143; 1903, p. 207) presents more than one possible explanation, and notes in particular that Hodgson may derive from the Old Norse Oddgeir-son.
Charles Bardsley (1901, p. 390) takes a similar line, offering multiple explanations including "son of Roger" but also giving due prominence to the possibility of Old Norse origins. For him, the derivation of the Hodgson surname could be from "'the son of Odo' from the nickname Oddy, sometimes Hoddy, whence Odson or Hodson. There can be no doubt that Odo is the parent of many of our Hodsons. In Yorkshire it was for two centuries one of the most popular font-names for boys."
Analysis of the early geographical distribution of the Hodgson surname, as well as recent DNA analysis of a number of Hodgsons, support the theory of Norse origins (Hodgson 1993, 2005) [3].
Hodgson (2005) offers an explanation of the original meaning of Oddgeir as well as biographies of a number of prominent Hodgsons. See also Hodgson (1925).
[edit] Variants
The Hodson surname is slightly less common and generally derives from Hodgson. Other probable variants of Hodgson include Hodgeson, Hodgshon, Hodshon, Hodgin, Hodgen, Hodgens, Hodghson, Hodgon and Hodgeon. In the North of England the "s" is often silent in the pronunciation of Hodgson. This accounts for variants such as Hodgin, Hodgen, Hodgon and Hodgeon.
[edit] References
- Barber, Henry (1894) British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning, first edition (London: Elliot Stock).
- Barber, Henry (1903) British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning, second edition (London: Elliot Stock).
- Bardsley, Charles W. (1901) A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (London: Henry Frowde).
- Ferguson, Robert (1858) English Surnames and their Place in the Teutonic Family (London: George Routledge).
- Hodgson, Geoffrey M. (1993) The Hodgson Surname: Its Norse Origin and Cumbrian Location (Standon, Hertfordshire: Martlet Books).
- Hodgson, Geoffrey M. (2005) Hodgson Saga (Standon, Hertfordshire: Martlet Books).
- Hodgson, James (1925) 'The Hodgsons of Bascodyke', Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, New Series, 25, pp. 244-49.
- Lower, Mark A. (1860) A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom (London: John Russell Smith).
- Reaney, P. H. (1958) A Dictionary of English Surnames, first edition (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul).
- Reaney, P. H. (1967) The Origin of English Surnames (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul).
