This interesting Anglo-Scottish surname is a patronymic. It derives from the personal name "Hudde", which itself has three possible origins. Firstly it may be a nickname form of the pre 7th century Old Saxon "Hugh", a name meaning "mind or heart". This name was very popular with the Normans, who used it widely in England after the Conquest of 1066. Secondly Hudde can be a nickname form of the Germanic and French "Ricard or Richard", and thirdly it can be from the Olde English personal name, "Huda", which gave its name to places such as Huddington in Worcestershire. In England Hudson is especially popular in Yorkshire. This county is also the home of the variant form Hutson - a dialectal transposition, of which the first recording may be that of August 16th 1618, when Mogerit Hutson was christened at Nunkeeling, Yorkshire. In Scotland the earliest record of Hudson is probably that of James Hudson, a charter witness recorded in the register of Kelso Abbey in 1466. Variants of the Scottish name include "Hudsone" in 1567, whilst "Hutson" is recorded there in 1637. Diminutives of Hudson include Huddy and Huddle, found in Devonshire and Cornwall. Amongst the many famous nameholders was Henry Hudson, 1580 - 1611, who is credited with discovering the 'North West Passage' and Hudson's Bay in Canada. Michael Hudson, who died fighting in the Second Civil war 1646 - 1648, was chaplain to King Charles 1st, and Scout Master to the Northern Army. 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.

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