Hockenberry History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Hockenberry is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when the family lived in the region of Hockenhull in the parish of Tarvin. Hockenberry is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. 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.

Early Origins of the Hockenberry family

The surname HockenBerry was first found in Cheshire at Hockenhull, a township, in the parish of Tarvin, union of Great Boughton, Second division of the hundred of Eddisbury. 1

However, we must look to Nottinghamshire to find the first entries in early rolls: Gibbe de Huckenhale who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1179. This entry was from Hucknall-Under-Huthwaite, a hamlet, in the parish of Sutton-in-Ashfield, union of Mansfield, N. division of the wapentake of Broxtow and of the county of Nottingham or Hucknall-Torkard, a parish, in the union of Basford, N. division of the wapentake of Broxtow 1

Almost one hundred years later, Hamo de Hukenelle was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1279. Later in Gloucestershire, William Hockenale was listed in 1345 and a few years later in 1378, he listed his name as Huckenale. 2

East Cheshire records show: Hamo Hokenhull, 25 Henry VIII; Richard Hocknell, 2 Elizabeth; and Thomas Hockenhull, of Hockenhull Platt, 1577. 3 For these records, the date was recorded as the year of the King as in the twenty-fifth year of Henry VIII reign.

Early History of the Hockenberry family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hockenberry research. Another 117 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1577, 1606 and 1731 are included under the topic Early Hockenberry History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hockenberry Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Hockenberry are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. The variations of the name Hockenberry include: Hockenhull, Hocknell, Hokenhull, Hoknell and others.

Early Notables of the Hockenberry family

More information is included under the topic Early Hockenberry Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hockenberry Ranking

In the United States, the name Hockenberry is the 7,205^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 4

Migration of the HockenBerry family

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Hockenberry or a variant listed above: Thomas Hockenhull, who sailed to Maine in 1812.

Contemporary Notables of the name HockenBerry (post 1700) +

Charles E. "Charley" Hockenberry (1918-2007), American football, basketball, baseball player and coach
John Charles Hockenberry (b. 1956), American four-time Emmy Award winning and three-time Peabody Award winning journalist and author
W. R. Hockenberry, American politician, Member of Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from Butler County, 1905-06 5

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-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)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html