The Hotchkiss surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,639 people carried this name — #6,079 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 52,400 people counted. That is up 1% from 5,589 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Hotchkiss surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

Variant of Hodgkins from the given name Roger.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Hotchkiss» (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 Roger’.

His entry covers Hotchkin and Hotchkiss.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 401 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Hotchkiss was found among the farmers of Shropshire: 52 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Shropshire 52

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

151 families named Hotchkiss, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 723 people lived in those households, 4.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 other spellings. 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

Connecticut 132
New York 12
Vermont 5
Pennsylvania 1
Maryland 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

Hotchkiss in American newspapers,
1910.

Newspaper page from The Herald-advance carrying the name Hotchkiss
The Herald-advance 1910-12-16
Newspaper page from The Miller Press carrying the name Hotchkiss
The Miller Press 1910-11-10
Newspaper page from The Herald-advance carrying the name Hotchkiss
The Herald-advance 1910-12-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 97,852 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Hotchkiss in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1980s.

1,703 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Hotchkiss. The most, 478, date from the 1940s. 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 1,186
Victoria 267
Queensland 90
South Australia 63
Western Australia 49
Tasmania 25
ACT (Canberra) 9
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Hotchkiss,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Julius Hotchkiss
    Julius Hotchkiss 1810–1878 · politician
  • Giles W. Hotchkiss
    Giles W. Hotchkiss 1815–1878 · lawyer
  • Benjamin B. Hotchkiss
    Benjamin B. Hotchkiss 1826–1885 · engineer
  • Joshua Hotchkiss 1675–1741
  • Ruth Hotchkiss 1712–1773
  • Minor Hotchkiss 1791–1825

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Hotchkiss,
in the records of 5 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 Hotchkiss name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 228
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 203
  • Other U.S. records 312
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Claude V. Hotchkiss

    Born 1919 in Connecticut. Enlisted 1943 at Hartford; warehouseman from Litchfield County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Cornwall Cemetery, Connecticut.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Michael Jenning Hotchkiss

    Born 1946; from Anaheim, California. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Maggie Hotchkiss

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the State of Nebraska from Glasgow and Moville, aged 29. From Grangemouth, Scotland; bound for Jersey City.

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

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

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

Australia44 records

44 records of the Hotchkiss name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 24
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 9
  • Other Australian records 11
  1. 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 Honorah Hotchkiss

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Elizabeth & Henry, sailing from London in 1848. Native of Birmingham, Warwickshire.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Saml Hotchkiss

    Arrived in Victoria in 1859 aboard the Prince of the Seas, aged 32; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Albert Hotchkiss

    Retired of Mitcham, Victoria; died 1973.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 44 records for Hotchkiss 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada25 records

25 records of the Hotchkiss name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 23
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Harry Hotchkiss

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record William Hotchkiss

    Buried in 1928 at Mount Hermon Cemetery, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, aged 78.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Ella M. Hotchkiss

    Married 1892 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 25 records for Hotchkiss in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom18 records

18 records of the Hotchkiss name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 11
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 6
  • Welsh wills index cards 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Hotchkiss

    Died 1916, aged 44; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Elizabeth Hotchkiss

    Will proved in 1919; of Llandudno, Carnarvon.

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

    London Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 18 records for Hotchkiss in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); 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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Hotchkiss name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Edwin Berdon Hotchkiss

    In a population register; born 1865 in Westport.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Hotchkiss.

When the index is not enough

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

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