The illustrious surname Hackword is classified as a habitation surname, which was originally derived from a place-name, and is one form of surname belonging to a broader group called
hereditary surnames. Habitation names were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Topographic names, form the other broad category of surnames that was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree.
Other
local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. Hackword is a place-name from in the county of
Devon. Hackword is a
habitation surname, which comes from the category of
hereditary surnames, and were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
Topographic names form the other broad category of surnames that was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. The place-name is derived from the Old English
personal name Haca, and from the Old English word
worthig, which meant
enclosure, or
enclosed settlement. The place-name taken as a whole means
settlement of a man called Haca.Early Origins of the Hackword family
The surname Hackword was first found in
Devon where they held a
family seat as Lords of the Manor of Hackworthy, a tiny village noted for a wood called Hackworthy Brakes. At the time of the taking of the
Domesday Book in 1086 A.D., this village, originally pre Conquest called Hacheurde, was held by the wife of Hervey de Hellean or Helion, a Norman noble who came from Hillion, near St. Brieux in
Brittany and was a Tenant-in-Chief in
Devon. This
Baron Hellean was the ancestor of the Asseristons, or Asshetons, or Ashtons of Devon. It was from this same source that, conjecturally, the Hacksworthy is also derived. For further reading of the Helleans of
Devon and
Brittany, please refer to the
Devon Worthies.
Early History of the Hackword family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hackword research.
Another 127 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 138 and 1380 are included under the topic Early Hackword History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Hackword Spelling Variations
Since the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules,
Breton surnames have many
spelling variations. Latin and French, which were the official court languages, were also influential on the spelling of surnames. The spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules. Therefore, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into
England after the
Norman Conquest, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. The name has been spelled Hackworthy, Hawksworthy, Axworthy, Acksworthy and many more.
Early Notables of the Hackword family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Hackword Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Hackword family to the New World and Oceana
Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Hackword, or a variant listed above: Thomas Axworthy who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1849.