Hotchkiss
An English surname that developed as a variant of Hodgkins, with an added initial H and a shifted spelling over time.
The #6,079 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 54,752 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hotchkiss is generally treated as a spelling and pronunciation variant of Hodgkins, itself a diminutive form of Hodge, a medieval pet form of Roger. In older surname development, the initial H was often added or retained in forms like Hotchkin and Hotchkiss, and the ending reflects the familiar English diminutive/patronymic pattern. The literal sense is therefore something like “son or descendant of Hodge/Roger.”
History
Nineteenth-century surname writers regularly grouped Hotchkiss with Hodgkins and Hotchkin, treating it as a later altered form rather than a separate root. The name is found in England and later appears in North America, where it became established in the United States. Because the spelling is relatively distinctive, it has remained stable in modern usage.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older writers explicitly said Hotchkiss was the same name as Hodgkins, just reshaped by pronunciation and spelling changes.
From the historical record
“Jcyn, the place of rushes, the sedgy place. HOTCHKISS. The same as Hodgkins (which see). HOTHAM. Assumed from the place of residence, Hotham in Yorkshire, probably derived from the Saxon word Hod, a hood or covering, and ham, a house, farm, or village, or a piece of ground near a house or village, both of which…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names