Show ContentsHootman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Hootman is Anglo-Saxon in origin. It was a name given to a maker of hoods. The surname Hootman is derived from the Old English words hod, hud, hood, and hodde, which all come from the Old English word hod, which means hood. 1 2

Occasionally, Hootman may be a local surname derived from the settlement of Hood in Rattery in Devon. "In the poem 'Robin Hood(e) and Guy(e) of Gisborne' the name is variantly Hood and Hoode; but the form is Hode in 'A Lytell Geste [Story] of Robyn Hode.'" 3

"The leader of the Surrey men in A.D. 853 was named Huda (Anglo-Saxon Chron., s.a.)." 4

Early Origins of the Hootman family

The surname Hootman was first found in Devon where Osberus Hod was the first record of the name in the source Old English Bynames c. 1100-1130. In Cambridgeshire, Walter Hod was listed there c. 1200 and Gilbert Hodde was listed in the Assize Rolls for Somerset in 1225. Robert Hood (Hod) was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1230 and Philip Hodde, Hudde was found in Canterbury in 1305. 5

In Somerset, John Hod was listed there 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign.) 6 The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included the name in a compound forms: Matilda Hud-doghter and Emma Hud-wyf. 7

In Scotland, "a composition between Andrew, bishop of Moray and Robert Hude (or Hod) relating to the manor of Lamanbrid was made in 1225. Robertus Hud of Leth (Leith), witness in an Inchcolm charter c. 1220-26. Robertus Hod received a payment from the sheriff of Aberdeen, 1264." 4

Early History of the Hootman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hootman research. Another 256 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1220, 1264, 1320, 1332, 1447, 1467, 1524, 1567, 1573, 1582, 1598, 1668, 1689, 1724, 1752, 1758, 1762, 1798, 1814, 1816 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Hootman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hootman Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Hootman include Hood, Hoods, Hude, Hud, Hudd, Hode, Hoode and others.

Early Notables of the Hootman family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Thomas Hood (fl. 1582-1598), the English mathematician, son of Thomas Hood, a merchant tailor of London, entered Merchant Taylors' School 7 Nov. 1567, and matriculated at Cambridge as a pensioner of Trinity College in November 1573. 8 Paul Hood D.D. (died 1668), was an English academic administrator at the University of Oxford. Viscount Samuel...
Another 61 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hootman Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Hootman family to Ireland

Some of the Hootman family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hootman family

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Hootman were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Adam Hood who settled in New Jersey in 1685; John Hood settled in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1630; Thomas Hood settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1682.


Contemporary Notables of the name Hootman (post 1700) +

  • John J. Hootman, American politician, Delegate to Ohio State Constitutional Convention from Ashland County, 1850-51 9


  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  4. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
  7. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  8. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  9. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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