This interesting name derives from the Olde French personal name Hu(gh)e introduced by the Normans after 1066. This name is in origin a short form of any of the various Germanic compound names with the first element "hug" heart or mind. e.g., a popular given name among the Normans in Britain partly due to the fame of St. Hugh of Lincoln (1140 - 1200), who was born in Burgundy and who established the first Carthusian and Scottish Monastery in England. In Ireland and Scotland the name became "Aodh", "Eoghann". In Wales and other Celtic areas, the name derives from the Old Celtic Hu or Huw, meaning "fire" or "inspiration". Early recordings of the surname include; Anne, daughter of Maurice Hughes, who was christened on October 9th 1586, at St. James, Clerkenwell, London; on October 12th 1670, Stephen Hughes married Cattrin Daniell, in Swansea, Glamorgan; and Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Hughes, was christened on June 14th 1687, at St. Thomas, Swansea, Glamorgan. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Hughes, which was dated 1327, Pipe Rolls of Somerset, during the reign of King Edward 111, "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was 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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