The Hopson surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 12,180 people carried this name — #2,946 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 24,200 people counted. That is up 1% from 12,050 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Hopson surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Robert + -son.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Hopson» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Robert’.

His entry covers Hoppe, Hopps, Hops and Hopson.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 397 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

35 Hopson families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 177 people lived in those households, 5.1 to a family on average. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Virginia 13
Connecticut 12
New York 3
Pennsylvania 2
North Carolina 2
Maine 1
Vermont 1
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 246 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Hopson in American newspapers,
1912–1918.

Newspaper page from Grainger County News carrying the name Hopson
Grainger County News 1917-07-19
Newspaper page from Oxford Eagle carrying the name Hopson
Oxford Eagle 1918-03-14
Newspaper page from East Oregonian : E.o carrying the name Hopson
East Oregonian : E.o 1912-11-06

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 21,314 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Hopson in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1970s.

4,418 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Hopson. The most, 834, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 2.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 2,923
Western Australia 605
Victoria 331
Queensland 270
Tasmania 165
South Australia 80
ACT (Canberra) 37

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Hopson.

Who carried it

People named Hopson,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Hopsonn
    Thomas Hopsonn 1642–1717 · politician
  • Thomas Hopsonn
    Thomas Hopsonn 1642–1717 · politician
  • Edward Hopson
    Edward Hopson 1671–1728 · sailor
  • Howard C. Hopson
    Howard C. Hopson 1882–1949 · businessperson
  • William Hopson d. 1928 · airmail pilot
  • Edith Hogg 1706–

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Hopson,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States743 records

743 records of the Hopson name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 389
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 173
  • Other U.S. records 181
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Frederick Wayne Hopson

    Born 1949; from Islip, New York. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1970 in Cambodia. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James T. Hopson

    Born 1921 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Bragg; driver from Wake County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1983, buried at Raleigh National Cemetery, North Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Margaret Hopson

    Arrived at New York in 1853 aboard the Houghton from Liverpool, aged 13; servant. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 743 records for Hopson in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia118 records

118 records of the Hopson name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 45
  • Tasmanian Names Index 34
  • Other Australian records 39
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Mary Ann Hopson

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1842. Married 1842 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 21.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record James Hopson

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Hooghley, arriving 1828; ticket of leave 1834. Native of Ayrshire.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Harriett Hopson

    Arrived in Queensland in 1878 aboard the Robert Lees, aged 27.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 118 records for Hopson in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada15 records

15 records of the Hopson name in Canada
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 4
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • Other Canadian records 8
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Abraham Hopson

    Came to Ontario in 1880 aboard the Polynesian, landing at Quebec, bound for Port Perry, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Edith Leone Hopson

    Buried in 1996 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 80.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Percy Hopson

    Died in service in 1947.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 15 records for Hopson in Canada.

Counts: Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom15 records

15 records of the Hopson name in the United Kingdom
  • Welsh wills index cards 8
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 7
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Joseph Hopson

    Will proved in 1906; of Upper Bangor, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. Hopson

    Royal Engineers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Christopher Alfred Hopson

    Will proved in 1939; of Kilvey, Swansea.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 15 records for Hopson in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Hopson.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Hopson is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Hopson volume
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