Hopson
A surname that usually developed as a variant of Hobson, itself from the medieval pet form Hob of Robert.
The #2,946 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 25,349 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hopson is best understood as a spelling variant of Hobson, meaning “son of Hob.” Hob was a common medieval pet form of Robert, and the change from b to p is a familiar feature of English surname spelling. In older sources, Hopson is treated alongside forms like Hopps and Hobkins as one of several local or scribal reshufflings of the same name family.
History
Nineteenth-century surname writers regularly grouped Hopson with Hobson rather than treating it as a separate origin. The name is therefore usually explained as an English patronymic that drifted in spelling over time, especially in records where b/p interchange was common. Today it survives in small numbers in the English-speaking world, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some old surname books explicitly note that Hopson is one of several forms created by swapping b and p in Hobson-type names.
From the historical record
“hence Bl^g, Blagden.or Blagbrough. Also cf. Brogden for Brockden. F for b. Hopps is Hobbs, Hopson is Hobson, Hopkins is Hobkins, Ropkins is Robkins, and Nopps is Nobbs ; Epps is Ebbs, and probably Puckle is Buckle ; Flackett represents Blackett, Pullinger Bullinger, and Peverley Beverley ; Pickerdike stands for the…”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances