The Hopson Family

For further information, check out the following websites:

Yancey Co., NC website:

http://pages.xtn.net/~nute/about.htm

Scott Co., VA website:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~vascott/

Floyd County, KY website:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kyfloyd/floyd.htm

Johnson County, KY website:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kyjohnso/johnson.htm

Hopson:  Origin of the Name

          HOPSON is apparently of English origin, according to this rather interesting item from English Surnames by C. M. Matthews (p. 193).

            “There is an interesting tendency for the ‘pet name’ forms of given names to survive as common surnames; the affectional dimunitives of ‘Robert’ give us Robinson, Dobbs, Hobson or Hopkins (because ‘Bob’ is not a medieval form of the name, there is no ‘Bobson’).  The ‘H’ comes from the fact that names beginning with R were rhymed far more than any other -- probably because the English have always had difficulty with the letter R.  The rhyming forms represent the pronunciation of the English peasantry -- hence such meanings as ‘hobble’ - the heavy gait of a peasant; ‘hodge-podge,’ the peasant’s food; ‘hick’ which is still in use;  perhaps ‘hob’ is an origin of ‘hobo.’  ‘Hob’ often became Hobkin, and the K had the effect of sharpening the b, so that this form became Hopkin (or Hopson).”

            So it seems quite clear that we Hopsons probably don’t have any royal connections;  let’s face it -- we were peasants.

?????Thomas Hopson?????

I received this note from R. Hopson  on 21 August 1998:  "I believe we all descended from the same person, the first Hopson to land in the Americas was Thomas Hopson 1618 on the Bona Nova at James City.  I will prove to that some day."

-- Any corrections, additions, and kind, constructive criticism are welcome. Full credit will be given for anything you submit. --

You are the person to visit Those Old Kentucky Homes since             16 August, 2007.