Hobgen Family History
Hobgen Surname Meaning
Apparently from a compound of two Middle English personal names Hobbe (see Hobb) + John, presumably denoting ‘son of Robert son of John’. It is a rare occurrence but is said to be paralleled in the medieval surnames Jakharry and Watfilip cited in
However, no medieval evidence has yet been found for Hobjohn, and -john may be a modern alteration by folk etymology of the Old French hypocoristic suffix -çon (Old Picard and northern Norman French -chon). See (ii).
This could stem from an unrecorded Middle English *Hobechon, a rhyming form of Middle English Robechon (Old Picard Robechon, Old French Robeçon), a pet form of Robert.
See Rabjohn where the same change of -chon to -john has occurred and compare Hobin (see Hobbin) as a rhyming form of Robin.
Perhaps a combination of Middle English hobbe and John, literally ‘goblin John’. Hob was certainly ‘goblin’ in Sussex, as presumably in Hobb’s Arse (now Hobb’s Haste) in Friston.
Source: The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, 2016