The Hudghton surnames earliest record with the spelling Hodgeton appears to be in the old Parish Register for Montrose,when John Hodgeton was baptised on the 19th August, 1733. The fact that the record for his parents marriage, a mere two months earlier gives their names as Alexander Hodgetoun and Ann Reid immediately shows that before the mid 19th century there was no general literacy,and even into the late 19th century,a writer would put his own interpretation on spelling.When their second son, Alexander,was baptised in July,1735, their names are shown as Alexander Hodgtown and Anna Reid,but when James was baptised in August,1737,they were again recorded at Montrose as Alexander Hodgeton and Ann Reid.
The fact that O.P.R's pre 1855, only record Baptisms and Marriages, and are certainly not complete records, still provide strong evidence of the family being in and around the Montrose area in the early 18th century.It is probable that Alexander Hodgsten, who was baptised at Montrose on the 27th May, 1710 is the same Alexander who was the father of John in 1733. His father, James, is recorded on another five baptisms in Montrose with the name shown as Hodgston in 1708 and Hodgestone in 1712, 1714, 1717 and 1724. In all these cases, the mother is given as Margaret Greig. Later records of John Hodgeton having three sons baptised at Inverkeilor between 1743 and 1747 suggest a likely connection with the Hodgeton farm.In all probability the family history can be traced back to James Hodgston at Montrose in 1708 or James Hodgestone at Arbroath in 1701. Many thanks to David Hodgeton for the above information and all the help he gave me to get this site up and running.
Variations of the surname Hudghton include Hodgetoun, Hodghton, Hodgsten, Hodgston, Hodgtown, Hodgstoun, Hodgton, Hudgston, Hodgestone, Hodgeton, Hodgetone, Hodgstain, Hodgtone and Hudghton.
The Hudghton name is Anglo Saxon in origin, a variant of the surname Houghton, recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Houstone, Hoctune and Hohtune.The first recorded spelling of the family name is that of William de Hohton which was dated 1115.