Hinge

Recorded in several spellings including Hing, Hindge, Hinge, Hinges, Indge and possibly others this would seem to be an English surname. It is reasonably well recorded in the surviving church registers of the city of London since at least the time of King Charles 11nd (1649 - 1685), and there is absolutely nothing in the early recordings to suggest any overseas input. The name probably originates from the Anglo-Saxon word 'hencg' of which the most popular manifestation is in "Stone Henge", where henge does mean literally hinge, but is used in Stone Henge to indicate the stones which lie on top of other stones. However there does not seem to be any place called Hinge or Henge except as above, in the gazetters of the British Isles for the past three centuries. This suggests that either this is a name from a now 'lost' medieval village, or that it means something else. The only other suggestion is that it could have been occupational for a hinge-maker, but as far as we are able to tell, hinges were made by either blacksmiths or whitesmiths as a normal part of their trade. Some three thousand British surnames originate from 'lost' sites, so on balance this is our suggested origin. Early examples of surname recordings include John Hindge at All Hallows church, London Wall, on August 21st 1660, Robert Hing at St Margarets Westminster, on August 10th 1679, and only ten days later that of Anna Hinge at Tottenham on August 16th 1679. Christopher Hinge at St Annes Soho in 1761, is also recorded as Christopher Indge at St Georges chapel, Mayfair, in 1764.