Hudgins
An English surname that most likely began as a patronymic form of Hudge, a pet name from Hugh.
The #3,048 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 26,265 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hudgins is generally understood as an English patronymic surname built from the medieval pet form Hudge or Hodge, ultimately from the given name Hugh. Hugh comes from a Germanic root meaning "heart," "mind," or "spirit," and the surname developed with an ending that signaled "son of" or descent from that name. In this sense, Hudgins originally meant "descendant of Hudge/Hodge."
History
The name is chiefly found in English-speaking records and was carried to North America with English settlers and their descendants. In the United States it is now most strongly associated with the South, where many English and Scotch-Irish surnames became established early. Spellings with -ins, -ings, and related patronymic endings often reflect regional and family-level variation in later recordkeeping.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Hudgins belongs to a large family of surnames built from the medieval nickname tradition around Hugh, which also produced names like Huggins and Hodgins.