The name Hopkines has a rich and ancient history. It is an Anglo-Saxon name that was originally derived from the name Hobb, a pet form of the personal name Robert. This name was supplemented by the common diminutive suffix -kin. Thus, the original form of the surname Hopkines was Hobbe-kin. [1]
The surname Hopkines was first found in Oxfordshire at Swalcliffe where a family of this name has resided since the 13th century and had nineteen proprietors who had the personal name of John. [1]
However, the earliest record of the name was found in the Latin form of Hobekinus in the Curia Regis Rolls of Staffordshire in 1224. William Hobkyn and Richard Hobkyn were both listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, while the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire of the same year list William Hopkyn and John Hopkynes. [2]
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Nicholas Hobekyn and Roger Hobekyn in Cambridgeshire and later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Agnes Hobkyn-wyf. [3]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hopkines research. Another 72 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1563, 1626, 1570, 1544, 1594, 1563, 1600, 1657, 1623, 1624, 1581, 1644, 1620, 1620, 1627, 1612, 1682, 1660, 1647, 1644, 1690, 1681, 1690, 1664, 1700 and 1664 are included under the topic Early Hopkines History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Hopkines include Hopkins, Habbagan, Hopkin, Hopkines, Hopkyns and many more.
Notables of this surname at this time include: John Hopkins (d. 1570), part-translator, with Thomas Sternhold and others, of the famous metrical version of the Psalms, was admitted B.A. at Oxford in 1544. [4]
Richard Hopkins (d. 1594?), was a Catholic exile, born of 'genteel parents,' and at about seventeen years of age became a commoner of St. Alban's Hall, Oxford, where he was residing in 1563. [4]
Edward Hopkins (1600-1657), was an English colonist, politician, and Governor of the Connecticut Colony, founder of the New Haven and Connecticut colonies, politically active in the administration of Oliver Cromwell.
William Hopkins, was a British sheriff...
Another 154 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hopkines Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Hopkines family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 182 words (13 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants: Michael Hopkin settled in Barbados in 1654; Stephen Hopkins and his wife, Elizabeth, settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts in the year of the "Mayflower".