Show ContentsHudd History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Hudd

What does the name Hudd mean?

The name Hudd is from the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name was given to a person who was a maker of hoods. The surname Hudd is derived from the Old English words hod, hud, hood, and hodde, which all come from the Old English word hod, which means hood. 1 2

Occasionally, Hudd may be a local surname derived from the settlement of Hood in Rattery in Devon. "In the poem 'Robin Hood(e) and Guy(e) of Gisborne' the name is variantly Hood and Hoode; but the form is Hode in 'A Lytell Geste [Story] of Robyn Hode.'" 3

"The leader of the Surrey men in A.D. 853 was named Huda (Anglo-Saxon Chron., s.a.)." 4

Early Origins of the Hudd family

The surname Hudd was first found in Devon where Osberus Hod was the first record of the name in the source Old English Bynames c. 1100-1130. In Cambridgeshire, Walter Hod was listed there c. 1200 and Gilbert Hodde was listed in the Assize Rolls for Somerset in 1225. Robert Hood (Hod) was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1230 and Philip Hodde, Hudde was found in Canterbury in 1305. 5

In Somerset, John Hod was listed there 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign.) 6 The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included the name in a compound forms: Matilda Hud-doghter and Emma Hud-wyf. 7

In Scotland, "a composition between Andrew, bishop of Moray and Robert Hude (or Hod) relating to the manor of Lamanbrid was made in 1225. Robertus Hud of Leth (Leith), witness in an Inchcolm charter c. 1220-26. Robertus Hod received a payment from the sheriff of Aberdeen, 1264." 4

Early History of the Hudd family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hudd research. Another 256 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1220, 1264, 1320, 1332, 1447, 1467, 1524, 1567, 1573, 1582, 1598, 1668, 1689, 1724, 1752, 1758, 1762, 1798, 1814, 1816 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Hudd History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hudd Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Hudd family name include Hood, Hoods, Hude, Hud, Hudd, Hode, Hoode and others.

Early Notables of the Hudd family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Thomas Hood (fl. 1582-1598), the English mathematician, son of Thomas Hood, a merchant tailor of London, entered Merchant Taylors' School 7 Nov. 1567, and matriculated at Cambridge as a pensioner of Trinity College in November 1573. 8 Paul Hood D.D. (died 1668), was an English academic administrator at the University of Oxford. Viscount Samuel...
Another 61 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hudd Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hudd family to Ireland

Some of the Hudd family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Hudd migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Hudd or a variant listed above:

Hudd Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Elizabeth Hudd, who landed in Maryland in 1664 9
  • Robert Hudd, who arrived in Virginia in 1666 9
Hudd Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Mary Hudd, who landed in America in 1747
  • Thomas Hudd, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1774

Hudd migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Hudd Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Richard Hudd, who settled in Lewis Bay, Labrador, in 1787
Hudd Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Hudd migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Hudd Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Edward Hudd, English convict who was convicted in Gloucestershire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Augusta Jessie" on 10th August 1838, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
  • Miss Sarah Hudd, Sr., English convict who was convicted in Warminster, Wiltshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Emma Eugenia" on 16th November 1841, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 12
  • Henry Hudd, aged 32, a farm labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Marion" 13
  • Isaac Hudd, aged 20, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Thetis" 14

Contemporary Notables of the name Hudd (post 1700) +

  • Roy Hudd OBE (1936-2020), English comedian, actor, presenter, radio host, author from Croydon
  • Mr. Roger Charles Hudd B.E.M., British recipient of the British Empire Medal on 8th June 2018, for services to charity and to the Arts 15


  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  4. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
  7. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  8. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  9. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  10. Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
  11. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 23rd August 2020 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/augusta-jessie
  12. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emma-eugenia
  13. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) MARION 1851 - HER HISTORY. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Marion.htm
  14. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) THETIS 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Thetis.htm
  15. "Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62310, 31 October 2019 | London Gazette, The Gazette, June 2018, https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/62310/supplement/B1


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