This interesting surname is a patronymic form of the personal name "Hudde", itself having three possible origins. Firstly, it is a pet form of the Old Saxon "Hugh", a personal name meaning "mind, spirit, heart" from the 7th Century, and popular with the Normans after the Conquest of 1066. Hudde is also a pet form of Richard "Hudson" translating as "the son of Hud". An Olde English personal name, "Huda", gave its name to places such as "Huddington" in Worcestershire. Hudson itself is widely distributed in England, and is especially well recorded in Yorkshire. In Scotland the earliest record of Hudson dates back to James Hudson, a charter witness (Records of Kelso Abbey, 1466). Variants of the Scottish name include "Hudsone" (1567), and "Hutson" (1637). Diminutives of Hudson include Huddy and Huddle, found in Devonshire and Cornwall. George Hudson (circa 1800 - 1871), made a fortune as a draper in York; he founded a banking company and became mayor of York in 1837 and 1846. He was also manager of York and North Midland Railway Company, and was elected M.P. for Sunderland from 1845 - 1859. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Hudde, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.