Hog History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

The name Hog was first used by Viking settlers in ancient Scotland. It was a name for a careful and prudent person. While in England, this name is derived from the animal and there it is a metonymic surname (a surname derived from the principle object associated with a trade or occupation), in Scotland it is derived from the Old English word hoga, which means "prudent." A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nickname surnames referred to a characteristic of the first person who used the name. They can describe the bearer's favoured style of clothing, appearance, habits, or character. 1

While this is the generally accepted origin of the name, one source claims the name was Norman as in 1040, Hubert de Hoga granted lands to Cerisy Abbey, Cerisy-la-Forêt, Manche, France. 2

Early Origins of the Hog family

The surname Hog was first found in Durham, but by the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the family was scattered throughout England. The rolls included: Alice le Hog, Oxfordshire; Philip le Hog, Kent; and Peter Hog, Yorkshire. 3

In Somerset, there were two listings of the family 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III): Nicholas Hogg; and Oliver le Hogg. 4

In Scotland where the most numerous records of the family were found, the first record was "about the year 1280, [when] Andrew Fraser gave to the Abbey of Kelso a bondman, Adam the son of Henry del Hoga (i.e. 'of the Hog') 'nativo meo cum tota sequela sua' (Kelso, p. 95). In the year 1250, mention is made of the croft of Henry de Hoga in Gordun, Berwickshire and c. 1270 John de Grantham, son and heir of Emma, the daughter and heir of Salomon del Hoga, made a grant from her lands at Berwick, which Radulph de Bernewill held, to the monks of Kelso. Again, about 1280 there is mention of the croft which Adam del Hoga held in the time of Lady Alycie de Gordun. Thurcyl hoga is one of the witnesses to a charter of Cnut, 1024 (Kemble, Codex Dipl., IV, 741). The spelling of the name here, Hoga, the earliest record of its occurrence, certainly points to Old English hoga, 'careful,' 'prudent,' as origin of the name at least in this instance." 5

Sir James Weir Hogg, 1st Baronet (1790-1876) the famous businessman, lawyer and politician was born in Northern Ireland, but his family originally hailed from Swinton, Berwickshire. This baronetcy of Upper Grosvenor Street in the County of London survived until 1957.

Early History of the Hog family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hog research. Another 434 words (31 lines of text) covering the years 1294, 1296, 1358, 1363, 1370, 1379, 1402, 1462, 1529, 1543, 1583, 1628, 1635, 1658, 1661, 1680, 1692, 1700, 1734, 1745, 1770, 1792, 1835, 1862 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Hog History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hog Spelling Variations

The spellings of Scottish names dating from the medieval era often bear little resemblance to those seen today. They vary enormously because scribes in that time spelled according to their ears. Some spelling variations of the name Hog include Hogg, Hogge, Hoag, Hogue, Hoig and others.

Early Notables of the Hog family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was

Ralf Hogge, an English iron-master and gun founder to the king; he succeeded in casting the first iron cannon in England in 1543 and known to have later built Hogge House in the village of Buxted, Eas...
Thomas Hog (d. 1680?), was a Scottish minister of Larbert, Stirlingshire; and his son, James Hog (1658?-1734), was also a Scottish minister at Carnock, known for his role in the Marrow Controversy
James Hogg (1770-1835), was a Scottish poet and novelist; and Thomas Jefferson Hogg (1792-1862), was a British biographer
Sir Roger Hog Lord Harcarse (1635?-1700), was a Scottish judge, son of William Hog, advocate, of Bogend, was born in Berwickshire about 1635. 6
Thomas Hog (1628-1692), was a Scottish divine, "born at Tain, Ross-shire, in the beginning of 1628, 'of honest parents, native Highlanders, somewhat above the vulgar rank'. " 6

Migration of the Hog family to Ireland

Some of the Hog family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 73 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hog migration to the United States +

The farms of Scottish settlers soon dotted the east coast of the colonies that would become the nations of the United States and Canada. Many of those migrants and their children went on to play important roles in the founding the great nations of North America. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Scottish name Hog or a variant listed above, including:

Hog Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Margaret Hog, aged 25, who landed in North Carolina in 1775 7

Hog Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Hog, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1812 7

The Hog Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Dat gloria vires
Motto Translation: Glory gives strength.

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)