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The name Hoddenett was carried to England in the enormous movement of people that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the Norman name Odinet, from which the more commonly known Odo is derived. Apart from the aforementioned patronymic origin, the place name could also mean "pleasant valley," from the Welsh "hawdd" meaning "pleasant" or "peaceful" and "nant," a "glen or valley." 1
The surname Hoddenett was first found in Shropshire at Hodnet, a village and civil parish in the union of Drayton, in the hundred of North Bradford. 2
The first record of the place name was found in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was listed as Odenet. 3
"The Hodnets, or Hodnetts, derive their name from the Shropshire parish of Hodnet. During the 13th century there was a powerful family in the county that took the name of De Hodenet from either the manor or the parish of the name." 4
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hoddenett research. Another 120 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1116 and 1237 are included under the topic Early Hoddenett History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Hodenet, Hignett, Hignet, Hodnet, Hodnett, Hodenett, Hodinett, Hodinutt, Hodinut, Hodinott, Hodinot, Hoddenett, Hoddinet, Hoddinutt and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Hoddenett Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Another 104 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Hoddenett or a variant listed above were: Humphrey Hadnett, who sailed to Virginia in 1635; Elizabeth and James Hignett sailed to Maryland in 1666; John Hignett to Maryland in 1675; Francis Hadnett arrived in Boston Massachusetts in 1767.