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A hodge podge

Disentangling Hod Variants?

'Hodgson is an extremely prevalent name across the north of England. With a lack of standardized spellings before Victoria's time, the versions of Hodgson, Hodson, Hodshon, and even Hudson, tend to be very much entangled. A family might well spell their name one way, but it does not follow that other people would copy. One has to take into account all spellings, of which there are over 1000 variants.

'Therefore we must address the alternate spellings. HODGSON is the most common form, and clearly we should also include HODSON, HODGESON, HODSHON and other related forms. In my view, however, we should exclude HODGKINSON, HODGES and HUDSON. Generally, the surname dictionaries do not take the view that they are of the same origin as HODGSON.' Geoffrey Hodgson, Cambridgeshire, England.

'I have my doubts about the inclusion of HUDSON as an accepted variant of HODGSON. It is claimed by writers on surname derivations that the name HUDSON has quite different origins. I accept that many (early) clerics could only write what they heard. The pronunciation of both names in some northern English dialects made any kind of distinction very difficult, especially in Yorkshire and Lancashire. There is also the problem of the persons arranging the event who may not themselves have been literate.' Brendan Hodgson, Hertfordshire, England.

Hodgson is dominant on Isle of Man with variants Hodson, Hudson, Hudgson and Hudgeon. IOM was Viking headquarters for the Western Isles. The Odin saga is depicted on their Sigurd Slabs and Norwegian Wood Carvings at Oslo National Museum.

'Variants of the surname HODGSON on the Isle of Man would seem to be HUDGSON, HUDGEON, HODSON, and HUDSON.' David Morgan, West Midland, England.

'The IGI Directory for the Isle of Man under the surname HODGSON gives reference to HATSON, HODSDEN, HOTSON, ODGIEN, HODGSTONE, HOGSTON, ODESON, and OGSON. Does the IGI grouping make these names fariants of HODGSON? Bruce Hodgson, Ontario, Canada.

IGI groups non-variants with Hodgson i.e. Hodgebloom and Hodgsyeard. To date SHARE has found 1200 variants of Hodgson probably due to a long history of shifts in dialect, literacy, handwriting, etc.

'An erroneous certificate had a family name as HODGINSON hence I spent years searching for other leads. The name was in fact HODGSON.' Marjorie Hanson, Victoria, Australia.

Hotchkiss is listed with Hodgson and 27 other variants in the Dictionary of Surnames by Hanks & Hodges as formed from Hodge. In Scottish Church Records, Hotchkiss, Hotchkes, Hodgekiss are grouped under Hodgkiss. Hotchkiss is pronounced Hutchkie. Huskie and Husky are under Hoskie, as is Hodgeskis, Hodghkess, Hodgkes, Hodkies, Hueskie.

Thanks to Rex J. Hotchkiss we have the following:

Nov 2004 "The name Hotchkiss would appear to be a derivative of the Norman Rodgers, meaning spear (Rod) bearer. This isn't hard wto believe when you hear what a French R sounds like. The French would not have pronounced the S, but to the Normans, it meant either Son of, or belonging to, so it is unlikely it would have been totally dropped. The name originated in Shropshire and migrated to Scotland in the mid-1700s, where a priest in Airth first recorded in as Hodgecase, due to the illiteracy of the time. It soon returned to it's original spelling however. I have heard of the "ss" sound being dropped before from some of those in Scotland, but being descended from that family, it doesn't seem to have either stuck or been too prevalent. Please see my website at: hotchkissclan.org.

Feb 2006 "Since my original quote I have come in contact with the Huskie's in Scotland, and have discovered the origin of their name. It seems that in the local dialect of Scotland, the "s" sound at the end of Hotchkissis commonly dropped, rather like final consonants in French are dropped. Thus, many people there actually pronounce the name as Hotchkie, and in fact, this has become a local spelling variation. Huskie is apparently just an extension of that variation. It is most prevalent in the Edinburgh line, which I described in my last note."

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