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.

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

Hackword Spelling Variations

Early Notables of the Hackword family (pre 1700)

Migration of the Hackword family to the New World and Oceana