The Hod(g)kinson Family Name

The name Hodgkinson or Hodkinson appears to derive from the personal name Roger, essentially a name of French origin which was unknown in England before the Norman Conquest of 1066.  The baronial class installed by William the Conqueror spread the name widely throughout Lancashire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire which area now constitutes the Hod(g)kinson heartland.  

The initial element Hodge appears to have developed as a rhyming nick-name for Roger/Roge while the 'kin' element represents a diminutive suffix, common in many names such as Atkinson, Wilkinson etc.  The final element 'son' is what it says, 'the son of'. 

There are of course numerous variants depending on the writing abilities of the family member or, more likely, the parish or government officer officiating over a church ceremony or registration.  Among the variants are; Hodskinson, Hadkinson, Hoskinson.  What is certain is that there is really no difference between the two main names, Hodgkinson and Hodkinson.  Improved educational standards towards the end of the nineteenth century merely 'set in concrete' one particular form of the name so that today we're stuck with whatever was heard, written or understood at that particular time.  My own line shows wild fluctuations in spelling until about 1880 when the 'g' permanently disappeared - a lot of people seem to be only too willing to put it back in again !

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Last updated February 2004