Hood
Usually an English surname from a hood or head covering, though some early writers thought it may have developed from the personal name Odo.
The #616 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,596 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The most common explanation is that Hood began as a nickname for someone known by a hood or distinctive head covering, from Middle English and Old English words for a hood. Some 19th-century surname writers also suggested a link with the personal name Odo, but they treated that as less likely. In practice, the name may reflect either a descriptive nickname or, in some cases, a shortened form related to a given name.
History
Hood is an old English surname and appears in records of several southern counties. It is also familiar from the legendary figure Robin Hood, whose name helped keep the word and surname widely recognized. Later bearers include the poet and humorist Thomas Hood, which further fixed the surname in English literary memory.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname became so familiar in English that 19th-century writers used it in jokes and wordplay about surnames in general.
From the historical record
“HOOD Honeylove. — Nick. A term of endearment ; cf. Sweetlove, Leif* child, Lovelock, Lovekin, &c. Mary Honllove, 1647: St. DionliBack- chnrcli (London), p. loo. 1671- " ' "”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances