Recorded in several forms including Hutchinson, Hutcheson, Hutchieson and Hutchison, this is an Anglo-Scottish surname. It is a patronymic and diminutive form of the original personal name Hugh, itself Norman-French, but of pre 7th century Old German origins. It derives from the word "hug" meaning "heart or soul", with the additives "kin" meaning close relative, and "son of". St. Hugh of Lincoln (1140 - 1200) founded the first Carthusian Monastery in England, and the popularity of the name was at least in part, due to him. Amongst the many early recordings are those of John Hucheson of Sheffield, Yorkshire, in 1440, and in Scotland James Huchonsone, who held lands in Glasgow in 1454. Other recordings taken from surviving church registers of the 16th century include those of Agnes Hutchinson who married Thomas Cordell, at St. Botolphs church, Bishopsgate, in the city of London, on November 10th 1570, and Hanna, the daughter of John Hutchinson, who was christened on November 8th 1573 at St. Vedast church, Foster Lane, also in the city of London. One of the earliest settlers in the New World was John Hutchinson, who departed from the port of London, aboard the ship "Bonaventure", bound for the original colony of Virginia, New England, in January 1634. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Isota Huchonson. This was dated 1379, in the Poll Tax returns of the county of Yorkshire, during the reign of King Edward 1st of England, 1272 - 1307. 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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