Hoggard
An English surname probably meaning “hog keeper” or “swineherd,” with roots in medieval occupational naming.
The #9,963 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 95,321 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as a form of Middle English hoggard or hogward, meaning a person who kept hogs. The first element is hog, while the second is related to ward or herde/herd, pointing to someone who watched over or tended swine. Some older writers also connect it with the broader idea of a village hog-keeper, and it may underlie or be related to the spelling Hogarth in some cases.
History
The name is recorded in medieval Yorkshire and later appears in northern English records, especially in Yorkshire, Northumberland, and surrounding counties. Modern surname writers noted both Hoggard and the variant Hoggart in the North and East Ridings. It also appears in local civic records, such as Beverley mayors and Nottinghamshire freeholders, showing that it became an established regional family name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th- and early-20th-century surname writers sometimes linked Hoggard with the artist William Hogarth, though that spelling history is not straightforward and was later regularized by the family.
From the historical record
“French hue. HOGGARD or HOGWARD (whence the surname Hogarth), the village hog-keeper. The artist's name was originally Hoggart ; he altered the spelling. HONEYMAN. See BEEMASTER. HUSBAND, the man who cultivated the portion of soil which derived from him the name of husband-land, a measure known in the Merse and…”
— Family Names and their Story