Hackforth

Recorded in the spellings of Hackford, Hackforth, and Hakeford, this is an English surname. It is locational and originates either from Hackford, a village in the county of Norfolk near Aylsham, or from Hackforth, a village near Ripon, in the county of North Yorkshire. Both places have the same meaning of a bend or hook of land by a shallow river crossing. This is from the pre 7th century Olde English words 'haca-forda'. At various times in history the places have been spelt the same as Hacford, so it is hardly surprising that the surname spellings have also varied over the centuries. Locational surnames are usually 'from' names. That is to say names given to people after they left they original homes, to move somewhere else. The easiest way to identify such strangers was to call them by the name of the place from whence they came. Spelling being at best erratic and local dialects very thick, often lead to the development of 'sounds like' forms. In this case the surname is well recorded in the surviving registers of the city of London since at least Elizabethan times. These recordings include Henry Hackforth who married Issabell Miller at St Mary-le-Bone, on June 1st 1587, and Mary Hackford, who married Michael Pickiss, at St Dunstans in the East, Stepney, on January 23rd 1629.