Welcome to the Hodgkinson One-Name Study.

It all came about because many years ago, whilst researching my family tree, I discovered that as well as being a descendant of Staffordshire Hodgkinsons by way of my father's paternal line, I also had a link to Lancashire Hodgkinsons, by way of marriages to two sisters from Stockport in Cheshire. It's a little complicated so let me try to explain. My father's father was Harold Hodgkinson, descended from Hodgkinsons living in Pipe Ridware in Staffordshire in the 1700s. My father's maternal grandmother was Jane Bramwell. Her sister Annie Bramwell married John Alfred Hodgkinson, descended from a branch of Preston Hodgkinsons in Lancashire. In consequence, I realised that I could prove my own familial links to around 300 Hodgkinsons (by the 1911 census), from what seemed like two separate branches and who also had a connection with Cheshire (and, incidentally, to other counties) as well as to Staffordshire and Lancashire. Feeling myself to be more of a Hodgkinson than most, it was then a logical step to widen the search to take in more Hodgkinsons, living near my known Hodgkinsons, in the hope of uncovering links to yet more of my forebears. Before I quite realised it, my One-Name Study was born and has been taking shape for well over a decade now, enabling me to publish a book, Hodgkinson: Our Surname, Our Story, Our Legacy in December 2022. [More details follow later.]

When I first registered with the Guild in 2015, I discovered that I was following in the footsteps of Mr Wilf J Hodgkinson, a former member, who I think had registered his Hodgkinson study during the 1980s but who was no longer connected with it. Some of his newsletters, now in the Guild's archive, have helped reinforce my own research findings.

The study is focused on the standard spelling Hodgkinson.

I have only included any variants where they occur by way of evolution towards the standardisation of the spelling or by way of transcription errors or lack of knowledge of the correctly spelled form. Hodgekinson, Hodgskinson, Hogskinson, Hodgkynson, Hodskinson (and more besides!) regularly occur in parish records for ancestors whose name eventually or even contemporaneously was Hodgkinson. Variants occur most frequently in those parishes where the name was not familiar at the time. Hodgkinsone appears with great frequency as the Latinate form, denoting 'ownership' or 'belonging to' in those records which were originally made in Latin, although it is evident that different clergy Latinised English name-forms in different ways. Hodkinson is not considered a true variant as it can derive from a different original source. It is not included except where the Hodgkinson form evolved to it, probably from choice, especially from the nineteenth century onwards. There are some Hodgkinsons from the Preston side of my tree who chose to become Hodkinsons.

Most of my information is taken from the Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames [Reaney and Wilson, Oxford University Press, 2005] which states that Hodgkinson is a patronymic surname, deriving from the name Roger, which was introduced to Britain by the Normans as HOGGE. It signified 'famous spear' ('HROD' meaning fame and 'GER' meaning spear). The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names [E.G. Withycombe, 1949] provides a broader definition (and, by extension, of the development of Hodgkinson from it). “Old English Hrothgar was reinforced at the time of the Norman Conquest by French Roger, from the corresponding old German Hrodgar, compound of hrothi 'fame' and ger 'spear'. (Hodkinson is also a patronymic surname but according to Reaney and Wilson derives from the name Hugh. The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, Hanks, Coates & McClure, Oxford University Press, published more recently in 2016, acknowledges, however, that it can be a variant of Hodgkinson.)

Hodgkinson does not appear as a Domesday surname but by 1200-1210, Hogge and Hogges forms existed and by 1275, Hodgeman and Hodgman are found for 'the servant of Roger'. Hoggekin arose as a pet or diminutive form meaning 'little Roger' or 'Roger the younger', and also Hodgkin, Hodgkins, Hodgskin(s) and Hochkin(s) forms can be found. It is thought that '-kin', as a pet form of many surnames, had Flemish origins from as early as the mid-1100s but by the thirteenth century, and especially so in Cheshire, they were becoming more common. By the fourteenth century, they were very frequent, particularly among the lower classes, and more generally widespread. Early references tend to be in ancient deeds so we find Robert Hochekyn 1327, Richard Hoggekynes 1445, John Hogekyn 1453, Robert Hodgekin 1524 and Charles Hodgskines 1690. [These last examples cited are from Reaney and Wilson].

However, by the 1550s, Hodgkinson (meaning 'Rogerkin's son') is found in parish christening records in Cheshire, Derbyshire and Lancashire and prior to that in early wills for the same counties as well as for Staffordshire and Warwickshire. To the examples cited above, I can also add one from my own research dating to legal proceedings (a final concord) on 13 March 1430. This names one 'Matthew Hogekynson of Assheton in Makerfield' (in Lancashire) and names a number of his children as his heirs. As this would indicate that Matthew would be at least 30 or so years old, it means that he was probably born in the late 1300s. It shows also, together with other evidence, that Hodgkinson in a variant form was also established by this date.

Hodgkins-type forms continued long after the Hodgkinson form stabilised in the north of the country (roughly by the end of the fourteenth century) and I have also noted that the Hodgkines-type forms tended to be recorded in the south of England.

By the 1881 census (generally considered to be more accurate than some of the others), there were around 5,150 Hodgkinson occurrences for England, Wales and Scotland, meaning that the Hodgkinson One-Name Study is classed as a large one. According to the British Surnames website (www.britishsurnames.com), there are now approximately 7667 people named Hodgkinson in the UK, making it the 1,408^th most common surname overall. To put this into perspective, in every one million UK citizens, 121 are named Hodgkinson. The most recent figures for the United States are 1172 (rank 20923 or 4 in 1 million) and Australia 819 (rank 1984 or 50 in I million citizens). There are also Hodgkinsons in Canada, New Zealand and other countries, of course, and others born in places as diverse as St Helena and Switzerland, Jamaica and Japan. However, other than immediate relatives, I have never (knowingly) met another Hodgkinson!

Again using the 1881 census, the counties with the largest Hodgkinson populations are, in descending order, Lancashire 1459, Derbyshire 698, Staffordshire 593, Yorkshire 554, Cheshire 540 and Nottinghamshire 399. All of these counties are in the northern half of England and border one another. This would indicate a high probability that the surname does have a single source or has a small number of quite specifically located, contiguous sources from which our ancestors migrated outwards. This theory is also reinforced by the earliest parish records. London, for example, where the first Hodgkinson baptisms were recorded in 1600, some half a century after the earliest ones in the north-west, still only recorded 223 individuals in the 1881 census, a figure little changed by the 1911 census, when 246 individuals were recorded. It seems that most Hodgkinsons like to stay pretty close to their roots unless life events cause them to seek better opportunities farther afield, for example to seek work in times of hardship.

DNA profile results are always welcome and, although I do not co-ordinate an official project, several fellow Hodgkinsons have been kind enough to share their findings with me for the benefit of my research. Those supplied to date, show a range of ancestry from 96% Anglo Saxon/4% Celtic to virtually 100% Anglo Saxon. More results are always welcome!

I am a Hodgkinson true to type and still live in the north-west of England.

I always welcome enquiries and offers of help from Hodgkinson 'cousins' - for it seems many of us will be - to grow our One-Name Study. I am particularly keen to hear from anyone who can tell me about living Hodgkinsons and their parents and grandparents so that I can tie data from after the 1911 census into the family trees I have already constructed up to that time. In this way I have been able to learn about some branches in the USA, Canada and Australia and include their trees in my research. [I now have around 450 trees in total, covering some 9,000 Hodgkinsons by birth]. I would also welcome any other information which may not generally be in the public domain, as well as grave details (burial place, inscription and photograph, if possible). Of course, anything relevant is of immense interest and could include military, career, education and sporting records, achievements and awards, letters and wills, obituaries, newspaper articles, etc.

Hodgkinson Book

Family anecdotes are also wonderful to hear and some have been included in my book, Hodgkinson: our surname, our story, our legacy, Carnegie Book Production, 2022. This is available to purchase now.

As well as exploring the medieval origins of our surname, there is also a Hodgkinson timeline from 1166 to 1850 and biographies of Hodgkinson ancestors who have helped shape our modern world. There are inventors, engineers, explorers and reformers, and some surprising links to some famous people including King Charles II, Captain James Cook and Sir Richard Arkwright. Other biographies tell how Hodgkinsons featured at key historical moments, among them the loss of Titanic, the Peterloo Massacre, the 'great escape' from Stalag Luft III and the passing of the Second Reform Bill to extend voting rights. Additionally, the many and varied lives of several 'ordinary' Hodgkinson families are described and may even include some of your own ancestors.

The book is a celebration of our wonderful Hodgkinson history and brings together for the first time a comprehensive collection of research material into one handy reference work. It is printed in full colour, with many original photographs, and has 468 pages. [Paperback with laminated gloss cover and sewn binding, 234 x 156mm, posting weight 1.1kg. It is not currently available digitally.] In the first instance, it is available from the author at a price of £28 including packing and postage within the UK. For purchasers outside the UK, the price is £25 plus postage at the relevant rate. Any enquiries can be sent to Avis Keen by e-mail via this webpage and can be made without any obligation whatsoever. Signed copies, with or without a dedication, can be requested.

And finally …

The formation of an interactive Hodgkinson Society would also be something I would like to aspire to. Please do get in touch through the Guild's website, like so many already have, and tell me about your Hodgkinson links.

… And the significance of the sundial? It can be found on a former school house in Ashover in Derbyshire, which was designed by George and Ann Hodgkinson of Overton Hall nearby and finished by their son William and his wife in 1703. The sundial was clearly added later, possibly to improve punctuality. Many Hodgkinsons who went on to shape the modern world were descended from the powerful and wealthy Ashover clan. A similarly influential dynasty of Hodgkinsons also existed in Preston in Lancashire and from an earlier date. The Hodgkinson story is a very interesting one!