Hodge
A medieval nickname surname from Roger, later used as a given-name pet form and family name.
The #643 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,834 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hodge began as a familiar English nickname for Roger, with the initial sound of Roger often reduced in speech to a rough H- form. The name Roger itself comes through Old French from a Germanic personal name, so Hodge is not originally a word-name but a pet form of a forename. In later surname use, Hodge could stand on its own or appear in expanded forms such as Hodgson, meaning "son of Hodge."
History
Medieval English records and later surname dictionaries regularly treat Hodge as one of several nickname forms of Roger. It was especially productive in English surnames, giving rise to related names like Hodges, Hodgkin, Hodgkinson, and Hodgson. Some sources note regional pronunciation differences, with forms like Hodgson shifting in speech and spelling over time.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers specifically grouped Hodge with Hob and Hick as major nickname forms that generated many English surnames.
From the historical record
“Hoder in H.R. denoting some occupation. HODGE. HODGES. See Roger. HODGKIN. See Roger. I have before me a document of the XV. cent, in which the same landed proprietor is called indiffe- rently Roger and Hodgkyn. HODGKINSON". See Roger. HODGSON. The son of Hodge or Roger. This name in the North of England is…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom