Hockenbury History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Anglo-Saxon name Hockenbury comes from when the family resided in the region of Hockenhull in the parish of Tarvin. Hockenbury 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 Hockenbury family

The surname Hockenbury 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 Hockenbury family

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

Hockenbury Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Hockenbury has been recorded under many different variations, including Hockenhull, Hocknell, Hokenhull, Hoknell and others.

Early Notables of the Hockenbury family

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

Migration of the Hockenbury family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Hockenbury or a variant listed above: Thomas Hockenhull, who sailed to Maine in 1812.

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)