The meanings of Suffolk surnames - are you on the list?

A lot of local surnames were formed in the 11th century - many of them first recorded in the Domesday Book. 

“The Domesday Book is the first census in this country, and it’s when we started seeing surnames being registered for the first time in a very big way,” explains Suffolk historian and surname expert Charlie Haylock. 

“Gradually, through time, surnames became registered through a variety of ways in pipe rolls, Curia Regis rolls, the Hundred rolls, the Assize courts, land transactions, Royal Charters, and more.” 

Here, Charlie reveals the origin of just a few more local surnames, beginning with the letters H, I, J, and K, explaining their meanings and where they come from. 

Is your surname on the list? (Image: Devonyu/GettyImages)

Haggin  

“First recorded in 1086 in the Domesday Book in Suffolk as ‘Hagana’ from Old Scandinavian ‘haghni’, meaning ‘hawthorn’, it’s a nickname for a dweller on land where hawthorn is growing,” explains Charlie.  

Hagwood  

Recorded in 1095 in Bury St Edmunds in the Suffolk Pipe Rolls as ‘Heiuuard’, this surname derives from the Old English ‘hege weard’, and is also the same derivation for the surname ‘Hayward’. 

“It means someone who maintained and guarded hedges and fences - either to keep livestock away from the crops, or wild predators away from the livestock,” says Charlie. 

“It is common for the letter ‘g’ to be pronounced softly as a ‘y’, such as ‘sign’ and ‘resign’, but changes to a ‘g’ sound when saying ‘signature’ and ‘resignation’, hence Hagwood and Hayward.” 

Haken  

“This surname appears in 1275 in the Hundred Rolls of Suffolk as ‘Hakun’, and is a Viking-Danish name for someone from the noble classes.” 

Haker  

Haker is a Middle English trade name deriving from the Old Norse ‘hake’, which means a hook. “Haker is either someone who works with a hook or hook-shaped tools or weapons; or a maker of hooks or hook-shaped implements for work or weaponry; or someone who uses them as such.” 

‘Hake’ is also an old Suffolk dialect word for the hook in a fireplace on which to hang a kettle or a pot. 

Haylock 

“Officially recorded as a surname in Bury St Edmunds in 1188 in the Suffolk Subsidy Rolls as ‘Heiloc’, and it means the son of an East Angle landowner called Hagul, but is pronounced with the soft ‘g’ as Hay’l,” says Charlie. 

Hibble 

“This is a very rare surname because it means the ‘son of Isabel’, and the ‘sons of’ group of surnames are normally of male derivation. Hibble is a pet form for Isabel.” 

Hillen  

“Hillen pre-dates the 1086 Domesday Book and was recorded 20 years before and just after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Tihel de Helion, known as ‘The Breton’, who came from Helléan, West Brittany, ventured over with William the Conqueror as a successful leader of Breton mercenaries. Subsequently he was granted land on the Essex-Suffolk border either side of the River Stour in the Haverhill area. According to surname dictionaries there a few variations of Helion, but Hillen is Suffolk and is a direct descendant of Tihel de Helion.” 

Hollen  

“This surname appears in the 1327 Suffolk Subsidy Rolls as John in the Holin. It means ‘dweller by the holm-oak or holly oak’, from the Old English ‘holegn holly-oak’.” 

The surname Hollen stems from ‘dweller by the holm-oak or holly oak’ (Image: Marcus Clackson/Getty Images)

Hufflet  

“Hufflet literally translates as ‘the son of the son of Hugh’. Hufflet is very Suffolk and is a local variation of Howlett. As there were no standards in spelling until the early 1800s, this surname has had many spelling variations including ‘Houghlet’ which was also later pronounced as ‘Hufflet’ and then spelled as such. The surname is a double diminutive and is contraction of Huff + el + ett. ‘Huffel’ means ‘son of Huff’ and ‘Hufflet’ means ‘son of Huffel’.” 

Hulver  

“Recorded in the 1474 Suffolk Pipe Rolls as ‘Isabel Huluyr’, with the second ‘u’ being pronounced as a ‘v’. This a Viking-Danish name and refers to ‘a dweller by a holly tree’. The Old Norse word ‘hulfr’ means ‘holly tree’, and is also the derivation of the two Suffolk hamlets called Hulver and Hulver Street.” 

Hurren  

“This is a Norman-French surname and first appears in the Suffolk section of the 1086 Domesday Book. It derives from ‘hurant’ meaning ‘shaggy haired’, and is a nickname for someone with shaggy hair.” 

Husting  

Husting stems from an old Viking name given to an officer of a law-court.  

“Recorded as a surname in 1275 as Robert Husting in the Suffolk Hundred Rolls, the Rotuli Hundredorum, which was a detailed census of all the various administration areas in Suffolk called ‘Hundreds’. ‘Husting’ derives from the Old Norse ‘hús þing’. The letter þ is both Old English and Old Norse for a ‘th’ sound as ‘hús thing’, the contraction of which becomes ‘Husting’.” 

Hyner  

“This is believed to have derived from someone who had lived in the medieval Suffolk lost village of Henyard, which in itself derives from the Old English words ‘henn’ (poultry), and ‘geard’ (yard). It is another soft ‘g’ pronounced as ‘y’.” 

Ingate 

“In 1327 in the Suffolk Subsidy Rolls, Matilda de Endegate is recorded, and a later recording in the Suffolk Subsidy Rolls in 1568 is Robert Ingate. The name means someone who comes from Ingate, Beccles - but the derivation is not as obvious as it looks, and is a mixture of Old English and Old Norse . 

“The Old English ‘ende’ refers to a particular district of a parish or a hamlet, and the Old Norse ‘gata’ means ‘street’ but was later written down as ‘Ingate’. In fact, all the ‘gates’ in Beccles refer to ‘road’ or ‘street’, as in Blybergate which is a corruption of Blythburgh Gata and means Blythburgh Street.” 

Jaye  

“There are many variations in spelling of this surname, but it would appear that Jaye is peculiarly Suffolk. In the 1881 surname distribution map, Jaye is only found in Suffolk. This is a nickname for someone who is a loud chatterer, like the bird of the same name, and comes from the Old French ‘jay’ and ‘gai’, both meaning ‘jay’.” 

Jowers  

“There are other spelling variations of this surname in other counties, but Jowers was first recorded in Suffolk in 1524 in the Suffolk Subsidy Rolls as ‘Jowyr’. It is an anglicised extension of the Norman French ‘jour’ meaning ‘day’, and a figure of speech for a journeyman (a person out of apprenticeship but not yet a master craftsman and as such, paid by the day). As a matter of interest, the word ‘journey’ originally meant how far you could travel in a day.” 

Kant 

“First recorded in the Suffolk Subsidy Rolls in 1327 as ‘Richard Cante’, it comes from French-Viking ‘cant’ and Old French ‘chant’ meaning ‘singing’ and is metonymic for a singer or a minstrel. Kant is the anglicised Suffolk version.” 

Keeble  

“First recorded in the Suffolk Pipe Rolls in 1095 in Bury St Edmunds as ‘Æluric Chebbel’, and later in the Suffolk Subsidy Rolls in 1524 as ‘Kebull’, this surname derives from Old English ‘cybble’ (pronounced as ‘kibble’), and means ‘cudgel’. It is a metonymic name for a maker or seller of cudgels.” 

The surname Kentell has roots in Long Melford's Kentwell Hall (Image: Su Anderson, Archant)

Kentell  

“This is the Suffolk local pronunciation of Kentwell, Long Melford. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the English owners of the manor of Kentewelle, just outside Long Melford, were allowed to hold onto their land. The son of the owner took on the name as Gilbert de Kentwelle, and his son appears in the Suffolk Pipe Rolls in 1165 as Richard de Kentewelle. The place name most probably derives from Old English for a source of water (‘wella’), on land owned by a man called Centel.” 

Kentwell  

See above. 

Kindred  

“First recorded in Suffolk Church registers in the 1500s, the first recorded spelling of the surname is that of Steven Kindred 1510 in Kelsale. The local vicar of Carlton cum Kelsale found a baby left on his door step. Not knowing the name of the baby, he said that it was his Kindred and therefore gave the baby the surname of Kindred.” 

READ MORE: Do you have one of Suffolk's oldest surnames?