Recorded in a number of spellings as shown below, this is an English surname, although arguably of Germanic and Norman French origins. However spelt it is one of the patronymic forms of the male name Hodge, itself a medieval form of Roger . This was introduced into England after the famous Conquest of 1066 and derives from the pre 5th century Germanic 'Rodger', meaning "renowned spear". The substitution of 'H' for 'R' as in Hodge reflected the difficulty encountered by English people in pronouncing the Norman (French) 'r' sound. Early examples of 'Hodge' as a given name are recorded as 'Hogge', as in the 1208 Fines Court Records of Lincolnshire, and the first recordings of the surname are similar (see below). The modern spellings include Hodge, Hodges, Hodgeson, Hodgen, Hodgin, Hodgon, Hodgson, Hodgett, Hodgetts, and others. Early recording examples include Ricardus Hoge in the Poll Tax rolls of Yorkshire in 1379, Ebbota Hoggese in the same rolls, William Hodges listed in the Suffolk Subsidy Rolls of 1524, Agnes Hodgett in the Marriage License lists of London for the year 1577, and Mary Hodgen at St Brides Fleet Street, in 1654. Where it occurs, the final 's' as in 'Hodges', is a reduced form of 'son of '. A coat of arms granted in Gloucester, has the blazon of a gold field, charged with three black crescents, and on a black canton, a gold coronet. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alicia Hogges. This was dated 1327, in the Subsidy Tax rolls of Somerset, during the reign of King Edward 11, known as 'Edward of Caernafon', 1307 - 1327. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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