FUDGE
The surname Fudge is a distinctly English family name, originating from the British Isles and first recorded in the medieval period. It is classically associated with the country of England, and its earliest attestations appear in the 12th and 13th centuries.
According to linguistic research, the name was derived in part from the Middle English word fugg, meaning “to fly” or “to flee.” The term was initially used as a sobriquet, applied to a person who was quickly or agile, or who habitually avoided confrontation. Over the centuries the form of the name evolved, absorbing influence from the confectionery dessert “fudge,” a sweet treat that later shared the same phonetic shape.
In another line of evidence, the name can be understood as a diminutive of the Germanic personal name Fulcher. The original form, Fulcher, came to England as a consequence of the Norman Invasion in 1066, replacing the Anglo‑Saxon name Folchere and the Old Scandinavian form Folkar. Contemporary documentation gives the earliest surname usage in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a man named Roger Fulchier appears in the county of Suffolk, and a Rogerus filius Foukere appears on the 1201 Curia Regis Rolls of Oxfordshire. The surname variants Fuche, Fughe, Fuge, and Fudge themselves become the most common pronunciation in Somerset. In 1576, a William Fudge who married a Margaret Goug at Bruton in Somerset proves that the surname persisted for more than four hundred years.
A heraldic device for the name is the heraldic armory of a red bend, a coat of arms, which records the emblem as an ermine shield with three silver plates on a red bend, and a crest depicting a demi‑lion holding an anchor, described in heraldry as a proper animal. The earliest heraldic reference, dated 1167 in the Pipe Rolls of Hampshire, supplies the family legal history that situates the name in rock‑solid records from the reign of King Henry the Builder of Churches (1154–1189). These facts together assert that the name has survived as a recognised family identifier for the better part of a millennium.
Typical given names associated with the Fudge surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Malcolm
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Stephen
- Steven
Female
- Deborah
- Elizabeth
- Jacqueline
- Joanne
- Karen
- Margaret
- Mary
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Rachel
- Sarah
- Stephanie
- Susan
- Victoria
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Fudge in...
Braille
⠋⠥⠙⠛⠑
Morse
..-...--..--..
Semaphore
There are approximately 1,944 people named Fudge in the UK. That makes it roughly the 4,311th most common surname in Britain. Around 30 in a million people in Britain are named Fudge.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Fudge
- Paula Fudge - Long-distance runner
- Kathryn Fudge - Handball player
- Albert Fudge - (1858 to 1949)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.