This interesting surname is of French origin and is the diminutive (son of, or little) form of the Old French personal name Hu(gh)e, which was introduced by the Normans after 1066. This name is in origin a short form of any of the various Germanic compound names with the first element "hug", heart or mind. It was a popular given name among the Normans in England due to the fame of St. Hugh of Lincoln (1140 - 1200) who was born in Burgundy and who established the first Carthusian and Scottish Monastery in England. In Ireland and Scotland the name became "Aodh", and in Wales, "Pugh" (ap. Hugh). The following examples illustrate the name development after 1332 (see below) John Hukyn (1337 Essex), Thomas Howkyn (1378 Oxfordshire), Ann Huckin married Richard Somersall on June 7th 1778 at St. Botolph without Aldergate, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Hukyns, which was dated 1332, Subsidy Rolls of Warwickshire, during the reign of King Edward 111, "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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