Hogben

Recorded in a number of spellings including Hogben, Hoggben, Hogbeen, Hogbin, and Higbin, this interesting surname is of medieval English origin. It is an example of the sizable group of early European surnames that were created in the 12th century onwards from the habitual use of nicknames. These nicknames were often cruel to modern thinking, as they included physical and mental disabilities, as well as resemblance to an animal or bird's appearance or disposition, although they don't seem to have bothered the recipients at the time. In this case the derivation is from the Middle English "huckbone", meaning hip bone, and a nickname for someone with a deformed hip, who probably walked crookedly. The usual surname from this source is Crookshank or the Scottish Cruikshank. In this case an early example of a recording is that of Robert Hucbone in the Archaeological Records of the county of Kent in the year 1501. Later recordings taken from surviving church registers of the city of London include: the marriage of Elizabeth Hogben and Thomas Webb on September 25th 1595, at St. Stephen's church, Coleman Street; and the marriage of Katherine Hogbin and Richard Ward on February 8th 1649 at the church of St. Margaret Pattens. The first recorded spelling of the family name may be that of Thomas Huckebone. This was dated 1479, also in the Archaeological Records of Kent, during the reign of King Edward 1V, known as "The Self Proclaimed King", 1461 - 1483. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.