Show ContentsHopwood History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The history of the Hopwood family goes back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the family living in the settlement of Hopwood in the county of Lancashire. The surname Hopwood belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names.

Early Origins of the Hopwood family

The surname Hopwood was first found in Lancashire at Hopwood, a township, in the parish of Middleton, union of Bury, hundred of Salford. "A family of the local name was seated here for many centuries, probably from Saxon times. "

"In 1359, Adam de Hopwood was one of the inquisition at Preston held before Thomas de Seton and others, justices, to determine a dispute between Henry, Duke of Lancaster, and Roger de la Warre. "

"On the death of Dr. Robert Hopwood, in the early part of the eighteenth century, when the family became extinct, the estates passed to the Gregges, who assumed the additional name of Hopwood. Hopwood Hall is an old-fashioned house, pleasing in aspect and agreeable in situation, with tolerably extensive pleasure-grounds, tastefully laid out." 1

William de Hopwood, de Hopwode was listed in Cheshire in the 13th century and in the Assize Rolls for Lancashire in 1298. 2

Early History of the Hopwood family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hopwood research. Another 104 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1298, 1379, 1587, 1615, 1752, 1813, 1818 and 1819 are included under the topic Early Hopwood History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hopwood Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Hopwood include Hopwood, Hopwoods, Hipwood, Hapwood, Hobwoods and many more.

Early Notables of the Hopwood family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • James Hopwood (1752?-1819), English engraver, born at Beverley in Yorkshire about 1752, who took to engraving at the age of forty-five, as a means of supporting a family of six children...
  • Hopwood was elected in 1813 secretary to the Artists' Benevolent Fund, and held the post till 1818, when he resigned through illness...

Hopwood Ranking

In the United States, the name Hopwood is the 12,035th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3


Hopwood migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Hopwood or a variant listed above:

Hopwood Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Edward Hopwood who sailed from Isle of Wight arriving in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet
  • Mathew Hopwood, who settled in Virginia in 1663
Hopwood Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Mrs. Elizabeth Hopwood, aged 24, British settler who arrived in New York aboard the ship "Cynosure" in 1863
  • Mr. William Hopwood, aged 29, British settler who arrived in New York aboard the ship "Cynosure" in 1863
Hopwood Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Arthur Hopwood, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1900 4

Hopwood migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Hopwood Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century
  • Mr. James Hopwood, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Barwell" in September 1797, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Hopwood Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. William Hopwood, (b. 1775), aged 40, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Fanny" on 25th August 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
  • Joseph Hopwood, English convict from Lancaster, who was transported aboard the "Almorah" on April 1817, settling in New South Wales, Australia 7
  • John Hopwood, English convict from Chester, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on September 3rd, 1820, settling in New South Wales, Australia 8
  • Charles Hopwood, a engineer, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
  • Mr. William Hopwood, British Convict who was convicted in Bristol, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Dunvegan Castle" on 13th March 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Hopwood migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Hopwood Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Hopwood, aged 39, who landed in Nelson, New Zealand in 1842 aboard the ship Bolton
  • Mr. T. Hopwood, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Lord Ashley" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 14th October 1858 10
  • Mr. Hopwood, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Peter Denny" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 15th October 1870 11

Hopwood migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 12
Hopwood Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Jo Hopwood, aged 20, who arrived in Barbados in 1635 aboard the ship "Falcon" 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Hopwood (post 1700) +

  • John Hopwood (1745-1802), American civil servant during the American Revolutionary War, founder of the town of Hopwood, Pennsylvania
  • Jeffrey A Hopwood, American Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Northeastern University
  • Avery Hopwood (1882-1928), prominent American dramatist, known for having four plays running simultaneously on Broadway in 1920, eponym of the Hopwood Awards
  • Keith Hopwood (b. 1946), English musician, singer-songwriter, composer, businessman and record producer, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist for the pop band, Herman's Hermits
  • Sir David Hopwood FRS, Ph.D. (b. 1933), Professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK
  • Rear Admiral Ronald Arthur Hopwood CB (1868-1949), British naval officer and poet
  • Judith "Judy" Hopwood (b. 1954), former Australian politician, Member for Hornsby, New South Wales (2002-2011)
  • Mererid Hopwood (b. 1964), Welsh poet, the first woman ever to win the bardic Chair at the National Eisteddfod of Wales (2001)
  • Herbert "Bert" Hopwood (1908-1996), British motorcycle designer, known for designing the Norton Dominator, BSA Golden Flash and the BSA Rocket 3/Triumph Trident motorcycles
  • Paul Hopwood, British operatic tenor

Empress of Ireland
  • Mr. William Hopwood (d. 1914), British Assistant Steward from United Kingdom who worked aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 13


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  5. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 29th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barwell
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
  7. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Almorah voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1817 with 180 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/almorah/1817
  8. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1820 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1820
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dunvegan-castle
  10. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  11. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  13. Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html


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