Show ContentsHood History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Hood is an Anglo-Saxon name. The name was originally given to a maker of hoods. The surname Hood is derived from the Old English words hod, hud, hood, and hodde, which all come from the Old English word hod, which means hood. [1] [2]

Occasionally, Hood may be a local surname derived from the settlement of Hood in Rattery in Devon. "In the poem 'Robin Hood(e) and Guy(e) of Gisborne' the name is variantly Hood and Hoode; but the form is Hode in 'A Lytell Geste [Story] of Robyn Hode.'" [3]

"The leader of the Surrey men in A.D. 853 was named Huda (Anglo-Saxon Chron., s.a.)." [4]

Early Origins of the Hood family

The surname Hood was first found in Devon where Osberus Hod was the first record of the name in the source Old English Bynames c. 1100-1130. In Cambridgeshire, Walter Hod was listed there c. 1200 and Gilbert Hodde was listed in the Assize Rolls for Somerset in 1225. Robert Hood (Hod) was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1230 and Philip Hodde, Hudde was found in Canterbury in 1305. [5]

In Somerset, John Hod was listed there 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign.) [6] The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included the name in a compound forms: Matilda Hud-doghter and Emma Hud-wyf. [7]

In Scotland, "a composition between Andrew, bishop of Moray and Robert Hude (or Hod) relating to the manor of Lamanbrid was made in 1225. Robertus Hud of Leth (Leith), witness in an Inchcolm charter c. 1220-26. Robertus Hod received a payment from the sheriff of Aberdeen, 1264." [4]

Early History of the Hood family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hood research. Another 256 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1220, 1264, 1320, 1332, 1447, 1467, 1524, 1567, 1573, 1582, 1598, 1668, 1689, 1724, 1752, 1758, 1762, 1798, 1814, 1816 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Hood History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hood Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Hood has appeared include Hood, Hoods, Hude, Hud, Hudd, Hode, Hoode and others.

Early Notables of the Hood family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • Thomas Hood (fl. 1582-1598), the English mathematician, son of Thomas Hood, a merchant tailor of London, entered Merchant Taylors' School 7 Nov. 1567, and matriculated at Cambridge as a pensioner of T...
  • Paul Hood D.D. (died 1668), was an English academic administrator at the University of Oxford
  • Viscount Samuel Hood (1724-1816), 1st Viscount Hood, was a British Navy Admiral, the eldest son of Samuel Hood, vicar of Butleigh in Somerset and prebendary of Wells
  • Vice-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood (1762-1814) of Kingsland, Dorset, was younger brother of Captain Alexander Hood (1758-1798.) Isaac Whood (1689-1752), was an English portrait-painter and was for many year...

Hood World Ranking

In the United States, the name Hood is the 510th most popular surname with an estimated 57,201 people with that name. [8] However, in Australia, the name Hood is ranked the 520th most popular surname with an estimated 7,379 people with that name. [9] And in New Zealand, the name Hood is the 566th popular surname with an estimated 1,250 people with that name. [10] The United Kingdom ranks Hood as 583rd with 11,203 people. [11]

Ireland Migration of the Hood family to Ireland

Some of the Hood family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Hood migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Hood arrived in North America very early:

Hood Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Ralph Hood, who settled in Virginia in 1621
  • John Hood, who settled in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1630
  • Richard Hood, who arrived in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1650 [12]
  • Jeremiah Hood, who landed in Massachusetts in 1676 [12]
  • Thomas Hood, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1682
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Hood Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • David Hood, who arrived in New England in 1723 [12]
  • Elizabeth Hood, who landed in South Carolina in 1772 [12]
  • Joan Hood, who arrived in South Carolina in 1772 [12]
Hood Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Hood, who landed in New York in 1810 [12]
  • McClelland Hood, who arrived in America in 1812 [12]
  • Joseph Hood, aged 21, who arrived in Rhode Island in 1812 [12]
  • Robert Hood, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1813 [12]
  • Peter Hood, aged 28, who landed in New York, NY in 1821 [12]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Hood migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Hood Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Johannes Hood, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749-1752
Hood Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • James Hood, who arrived in Canada in 1820
  • Ann Jane Hood, aged 10, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Billow" in 1833
  • Isabella Hood, aged 30, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Leslie Gault" in 1834
  • Eliza Hood, aged 14, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Leslie Gault" in 1834
  • Thomas Hood, aged 26, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the ship "Edwin" from Dublin, Ireland
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Australia Hood migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Hood Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • John Hood, a coachmaker, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
  • Robin V. Hood, a carpenter, who arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) sometime between 1825 and 1832
  • Mr. Thomas Hood, Scottish convict who was convicted in Perth, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" on 3rd October 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [13]
  • Miss Mary Hood who was convicted in North Riding, Yorkshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Edward" on 23rd April 1834, arriving in Tasmania, (Van Diemen's Land) [14]
  • Mr. John Hood, British convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "England" on 6th June 1835, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [15]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Hood migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Hood Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Augustus Hood, aged 20, a smith, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Slains Castle" in 1841
  • Mr. Augustus Hood, (b. 1820), aged 20, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Slains Castle" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 25th January 1841 [16]
  • Robert Hood, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1842
  • Arthur Hood, aged 22, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Jane Gifford" in 1842 [17]
  • Janet Hood, aged 18, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Jane Gifford" in 1842 [17]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Hood (post 1700) +

  • Donald Harris "Don" Hood (1949-2023), American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher who played from 1973 to 1983 for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Kansas City Royals
  • Karen Fort Hood (d. 2021), American judge who served as a judge of the 1st District of the Michigan Court of Appeals from 2003 to 2021
  • Morris Hood III (1965-2020), American politician, Member of the Michigan Senate; he died from COVID-19
  • Darla Jean Hood (1931-1979), American child actress, best known as the leading lady in the Our Gang series from 1935 to 1941
  • Nicholas Hood Sr. (1923-2016), American Congreational minister, Civil Rights activist and politician
  • Lucille A. "Lucy" Hood (1957-2014), American founder of Fox Mobile Entertainment, President of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (2013-2014)
  • Frederick Emmart "Ted" Hood (1927-2013), American yachtsman and Naval architect, winner of the America's Cup in 1974 skippering the yacht Courageous, inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 1993
  • James Hood (1943-2013), American civil rights pioneer, one of the first African Americans to register at the University of Alabama
  • Graham Hood (b. 1972), Canadian gold medalist track and field athlete at the 1999 Pan American Games
  • Major-General Reuben Columbus Jr. Hood (1907-1985), American Commander of the Headquarters Command, U.S. Air Force, Bolling AFB, D.C (1958-1959) [18]
  • ... (Another 19 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Hillcrest Coal Mine
  • Mr. John Hood (1889-1914), Canadian Miner from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada who worked in the Hillcrest Coal Mine, Alberta, Canada and died in the mine collapse [19]
RMS Titanic
  • Mr. Ambrose Hood Jr. (d. 1912), aged 21, English Second Class passenger from Fritham, Hampshire who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking [20]


  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  4. 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)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  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.
  7. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  8. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  9. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  10. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  11. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  12. 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)
  13. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
  14. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th January 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/edward
  15. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/england
  16. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  17. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  18. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, March 30) Reuben Hood. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Hood/Reuben_Columbus_Jr./USA.html
  19. List Of Miners - Hillcrest Mine Disaster Data. (Retrieved 2014, June 24) . Retrieved from http://www.hillcrestminedisaster.com/data/index.php?title=List_Of_Miners
  20. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html


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