Hopkins
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Hopkins Surname Genealogy
Robert, introduced by the Normans, produced a lot of short-name variations, such as Rob, Dob, Hob, and Hop. Hob or Hop with the suffix "kin" early developed as a surname. Nicholas Hobekyn was recorded in the Cambridge rolls of 1273.
In Wales, the suffix "cyn" was an adaptation of the English "kin" and the name ap Hopcyn could be found in the Welsh patronymical style. In the 1600's ap Hopcyn lost its ap and Morgan son of Hopkin, which had earlier been Morgan ap Hopkin, was now Morgan Hopkin and a fixed surname. Over time Hopkin gained an "s" (as Hopkin's son).
England and Wales. The largest concentration of Hopkins has been in south Wales, in the villages along the Swansea valley in Glamorgan. The Welsh name in its patronymical form was Hopcyn. Some Hopcyns claim to trace their lineage back to Rhodri Mawr, the first ruler of Wales in the 9th century. Hopcyn ap Tomas was a collector of the old bardic prophesies at the time of Owen Glendower.
By the 17th century fixed surnames had arrived. We find Lewis Hopkin of Llandyfogwg, the bard and descendant of Hopcyn Thomas Phylip. Possibly related was Thomas Hopkin who set sail from Cardiff in the 1630's for America. The Hopkins of the 20th century have included the actor Anthony Hopkins, who was born in Port Talbot.
In England, both Hopkins and Hopkinson can be found as surnames, Hopkins more in the south and midlands and Hopkinson more in the north, although the numbers were about equal in Lancashire. Hopkins can be traced from Elizabethan times to Wortley in Gloucestershire, Lambourn in Berkshire, and Coventry in Warwickshire (where they were country gentry). By the 19th century, there was, with the exception of the Hopkins in Kent and London, a definite westward shift to the distribution of Hopkins.
Ireland. The Hopkins name also cropped up in Ireland. The Gaelic name Mac Oibicin, mainly to be found in Mayo, was often translated to Hopkins by English census takers. There were 101 Hopkins in Mayo at the time of Griffith's land valuation of 1857. Hopkins was also to be found in Connacht and county Longford, probably from English or Welsh settlers. One Hopkins account writes of a Scots-Irish Presbyterian family who left for America in the 1730's.
America. Early Hopkins arrivals into New England were:
Gerrard Hopkins arrived from Kent in the 1660's and settled in the Crofton area of Maryland. The family became Quakers and tobacco farmers. They set free their slaves in 1807 and Johns Hopkins, from this family, ventured into other businesses after the Civil War, which made him very wealthy.
While the Quakers agonized over slavery, other denominations could accept its practice. The Rev. Rigby Hopkins, for instance, was a slave-owner in nearby Talbot county who used to boast of the slaves he whipped every Monday. General Francis Hopkins' plantation was in McIntosh county, Georgia. There are African American descendants from "Daddy" Randal Hopkins, a slave on his plantation. John and Sarah Hopkins' plantation was located along the Congaree river in South Carolina. Descendants still live in the house that was built there in 1808.
Australia. The name Hopkins appears in the early history of Tasmania. Thomas Hopkins, a servant of Governor Collins, established one of the first inns in Hobart in 1807. But he didn't stay long. Henry Hopkins, who had arrived from Kent on the Heroine in 1822, prospered as a shopkeeper and later as a wool merchant. He built Hestercombe Chapel in 1833, the oldest Congregationalist church in Australia, and is often credited with founding Congregationalism in Australia.
Select Hopkins Miscellany
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Hopcyn ap Tomas compiled in the late 14th century the first book of Welsh literature.
Johns Hopkins was the richest man in America when he died in 1873.
Gerald Manley Hopkins was a Jesuit priest and a poet whose 20th century fame established him posthumously among the leading Victorian poets.
Harry Hopkins was Franklin Roosevelt's closest advisor, one of the architects of the New Deal and a key policy maker during World War Two.
Lightnin' Hopkins was an acclaimed country blues guitarist from Houston, Texas.
Anthony Hopkins, born in Port Talbot in Wales, is one of the leading film actors of the present day.
Bernard Hopkins, who grew up in the tough end of Philadelphia, has held the middleweight boxing world championship for ten years through twenty title defences.
Select Hopkins Today
Robert, introduced by the Normans, produced a lot of short-name variations, such as Rob, Dob, Hob, and Hop. Hob or Hop with the suffix "kin" early developed as a surname. Nicholas Hobekyn was recorded in the Cambridge rolls of 1273.
In Wales, the suffix "cyn" was an adaptation of the English "kin" and the name ap Hopcyn could be found in the Welsh patronymical style. In the 1600's ap Hopcyn lost its ap and Morgan son of Hopkin, which had earlier been Morgan ap Hopkin, was now Morgan Hopkin and a fixed surname. Over time Hopkin gained an "s" (as Hopkin's son).
Select Hopkins Resources on The Interne
- Hopkins of Lambourn in Berkshire. Hopkins from 1560 to 1838.
- Hopkins Family History. Hopkins in the northeast.
- Hopkins Family Tree. Hopkins from Ireland to Virginia.
- Hopkins DNA Project. Hopkins DNA.
England and Wales. The largest concentration of Hopkins has been in south Wales, in the villages along the Swansea valley in Glamorgan. The Welsh name in its patronymical form was Hopcyn. Some Hopcyns claim to trace their lineage back to Rhodri Mawr, the first ruler of Wales in the 9th century. Hopcyn ap Tomas was a collector of the old bardic prophesies at the time of Owen Glendower.
By the 17th century fixed surnames had arrived. We find Lewis Hopkin of Llandyfogwg, the bard and descendant of Hopcyn Thomas Phylip. Possibly related was Thomas Hopkin who set sail from Cardiff in the 1630's for America. The Hopkins of the 20th century have included the actor Anthony Hopkins, who was born in Port Talbot.
In England, both Hopkins and Hopkinson can be found as surnames, Hopkins more in the south and midlands and Hopkinson more in the north, although the numbers were about equal in Lancashire. Hopkins can be traced from Elizabethan times to Wortley in Gloucestershire, Lambourn in Berkshire, and Coventry in Warwickshire (where they were country gentry). By the 19th century, there was, with the exception of the Hopkins in Kent and London, a definite westward shift to the distribution of Hopkins.
Ireland. The Hopkins name also cropped up in Ireland. The Gaelic name Mac Oibicin, mainly to be found in Mayo, was often translated to Hopkins by English census takers. There were 101 Hopkins in Mayo at the time of Griffith's land valuation of 1857. Hopkins was also to be found in Connacht and county Longford, probably from English or Welsh settlers. One Hopkins account writes of a Scots-Irish Presbyterian family who left for America in the 1730's.
America. Early Hopkins arrivals into New England were:
- Stephen Hopkins and wife and
children came on the Mayflower.
His daughter Constance married Nicholas Snow in Plymouth colony in
1627. A headstone marker was placed by her descendants in Eastham
in 1966.
- John Hopkins arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1634. His descendants are recorded in Timothy Hopkins' 1932 book, John Hopkins of Cambridge Massachusetts.
- Thomas Hopkins arrived in Providence,
Rhode Island in 1639. His great grandson Stephen became Governor
of Rhode Island and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
- William Hopkins, a grave digger by profession, arrived in Roxbury, Massachusetts some time in the 1650's.
Gerrard Hopkins arrived from Kent in the 1660's and settled in the Crofton area of Maryland. The family became Quakers and tobacco farmers. They set free their slaves in 1807 and Johns Hopkins, from this family, ventured into other businesses after the Civil War, which made him very wealthy.
While the Quakers agonized over slavery, other denominations could accept its practice. The Rev. Rigby Hopkins, for instance, was a slave-owner in nearby Talbot county who used to boast of the slaves he whipped every Monday. General Francis Hopkins' plantation was in McIntosh county, Georgia. There are African American descendants from "Daddy" Randal Hopkins, a slave on his plantation. John and Sarah Hopkins' plantation was located along the Congaree river in South Carolina. Descendants still live in the house that was built there in 1808.
Australia. The name Hopkins appears in the early history of Tasmania. Thomas Hopkins, a servant of Governor Collins, established one of the first inns in Hobart in 1807. But he didn't stay long. Henry Hopkins, who had arrived from Kent on the Heroine in 1822, prospered as a shopkeeper and later as a wool merchant. He built Hestercombe Chapel in 1833, the oldest Congregationalist church in Australia, and is often credited with founding Congregationalism in Australia.
Select Hopkins Miscellany
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Select Hopkins Names
Hopcyn ap Tomas compiled in the late 14th century the first book of Welsh literature.
Johns Hopkins was the richest man in America when he died in 1873.
Gerald Manley Hopkins was a Jesuit priest and a poet whose 20th century fame established him posthumously among the leading Victorian poets.
Harry Hopkins was Franklin Roosevelt's closest advisor, one of the architects of the New Deal and a key policy maker during World War Two.
Lightnin' Hopkins was an acclaimed country blues guitarist from Houston, Texas.
Anthony Hopkins, born in Port Talbot in Wales, is one of the leading film actors of the present day.
Bernard Hopkins, who grew up in the tough end of Philadelphia, has held the middleweight boxing world championship for ten years through twenty title defences.
Select Hopkins Today
- 42,000 in the UK (most numerous in Bristol)
- 30,000 in America (most numerous in Texas).
- 20,000 elsewhere (most numerous in Canada)
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The Origin/Spread of Surnames