Hudson
Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of Hud/Hugh,” though some early writers also linked it to names like Odo or local forms such as Hodson.
The #214 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,288 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hudson is generally explained as a patronymic, formed from the medieval pet form Hud or Hudde plus -son, meaning “son of Hud.” Hud was used as a short form of names like Hugh, and older surname books also connect it with related spellings such as Hodson and Hudd. Some 19th-century authorities proposed other local or personal-name explanations, but the Hugh/Hud patronymic is the main modern interpretation.
History
The name is well established in England, especially in northern and midland records, and appears in several spelling variants across the centuries. Some older surname dictionaries treated Hudson and Hodson as closely related or even interchangeable in some areas, reflecting dialect and pronunciation shifts. The surname later became common in North America through British migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In some older dialects, the same spoken name could be written as Hodson or Hudson depending on local pronunciation and the clerk’s spelling habits.
From the historical record
“Sussex as De Hoghstepe. HUDSON. See Roger and Hodgson. HUDDLESTONE. A small parish in Yorkshire, which the family erewhile pos- sessed, though they deduce their name from king Athelstan 1 HUE. HUETT. HUETSON. Ortho- graphical variations of the names Hugh, Hewet, Hewetson, HUER. The same as Couder — which”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom