Hassock Family History

Perhaps from Haske in Upper Hellions (Devon), which derives from Old English hassuc ‘coarse grass or reeds’ or from residence near an area characterized by clumps or tussocks of rough vegetation. Hassokland recorded about 1370 in Bexley (Sussex) may be where Henry de Hassok 1296 in Subsidy Rolls (Bexhill Sussex) lived.

The Lancs example de Ashock is included as a possible variant because it is associated with Anglezark less than ten miles from Wigan, where Hassok occurs in 1381, but it might have a different etymology and not belong with this name.

Perhaps from Middle English hassok ‘(clump or mound of) tough grass or sedge’ with reference to a shock of bushy hair (as in modern Scots usage). The absence of a preposition in most of the known medieval examples and the presence of the definite article in the 1332 Wilts example hint at this alternative possibility.

See Hossack.