Hendrickson is a surname that traces its origins to the Dutch language. It derives from the personal name Hendrik, which is the Dutch equivalent of Henry. The construction of the name is patronymic, adding the suffix -son to indicate “son of Hendrik” or “son of Henry.”

In medieval Europe the name appears in a wide array of spellings, numbering some four hundred variations. It is a derivative of the pre-7th century German name Heim-ric, meaning “home rule.” Compound names of this type were especially popular before surnames became fixed in the 12th century, and Hendrickson is an exemplary case of this genre.

Documented forms of the name span several linguistic traditions: in German it appears as Henrich, Hendrich and Henrick; in English and Scottish as Hendry, Henry and Henryson; in French-Provencal as Aimeric, Enric and Henric; in Flemish as Hendrick, Hendrik and Hendrickson; in Czech and Slavonic as Jendircke, Gendricke, Jina and Jindrick; and in Spanish as Enriques, with a Hungarian variant Jendrassik. Although the given name was historically popular in England—evidenced by the eight monarchs who bore it—the surname is most frequently encountered in Northern Europe.

In Ireland the surname Hendrickson may stem from two distinct sources. One possibility is the 12th century Norman family originally recorded as FitzHenry; the second, and perhaps more likely, is an anglicised rendering of the Gaelic O'Inneirghe, which carries a curious meaning of “the descendant of the abandoned one.”

Early authentic charters provide the following examples: John Fitz Henrie appears in the Calendar of Inquisitions, London, 1346; Genetiv de Heinrich of Fritzlar, Germany, is recorded in 1335; and John Hendrie of Cornwall, England, is noted in 1359. The earliest known instance of the surname in any country is believed to be that of Thomas Henery of Kent, England, in 1275, during the reign of King Edward I, a monarch often referred to as “The Hammer of the Scots.”

These records illustrate how the surname Hendrickson evolved from a simple patronymic naming convention into a marker of familial identity that crossed borders and languages, maintaining a presence in historical documents from the medieval era to the present. Its continuity reflects both the persistence of name‑based lineage counting and the adaptation of a Dutch root to the linguistic and cultural contexts of the British Isles and beyond.

Typical given names associated with the Hendrickson surname

Male

  • Andrew
  • Anthony
  • Carl
  • Christopher
  • Daniel
  • David
  • Gary
  • John
  • Karl
  • Michael
  • Paul
  • Stephen
  • Thor

Female

  • Carol
  • Dawn
  • Deborah
  • Donna
  • Hazel
  • Heidi
  • Helen
  • Joan
  • Margaret
  • Myrtle
  • Patricia
  • Susan
  • Suzanne

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 Hendrickson in...

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There are approximately 390 people named Hendrickson in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around six in a million people in Britain are named Hendrickson.

Surname type: From name of parent

Origin: English

Region of origin: British Isles

Country of origin: England

Religion of origin: Christian

Language of origin: English

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