HULSE
Hulse is a surname of English origin that derives from the Old English word huls, meaning a hollow or valley. As a locational name it was originally given to individuals who resided near such a geographical feature or who hailed from a place called Hulse or Hulme.
The first documented references to the name appear in the Feet of Fines for Cheshire in the year 1250, where it is recorded in variations such as Holes, Holis and Holys. The place from which the name was derived is identified as a township of Great Budworth, within the parish of the same name, in Cheshire.
A number of notable bearers of the surname are recorded in the Dictionary of National Biography. Edward Hulse (1631–1711) served as court physician to the Prince of Orange; Sir Edward Hulse, 1st Baronet (1682–1759), was physician to King George I; and Sir Samuel Hulse, 3rd Baronet (born 1827, died 1830), held the appointments of vice‑chamberlain to George IV and field marshal.
The family of Hulse in Cheshire was granted a coat of arms consisting of a silver shield with three black piles—one rising from the chief and two from the base—surmounted by a buck’s head couped proper and collared gold, with a gold sun between the horns.
According to the 2016 United Kingdom Census, the surname is most frequently found in Tyne and Wear, particularly in the suburbs of Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne and South Tyneside. In the United States the name ranked among the top 1,000 surnames in the year 2000, with the highest concentrations in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. German archival material from the late nineteenth century records a related form, Husle, in several Protestant regions.
Several variants have evolved from the same root, including Holes, Holis, Holys, Heulse, Huels, Hulce, Huilce, Huls, Hulss, Hulsse, Hulous and Hulsc. While the English form is generally interpreted as “hollow or valley”, some linguistic accounts note that in Old French the word huls was understood to mean “shelter” or “refuge”, a sense that is reflected in some of the later variants.
Today, the surname remains in common use throughout Great Britain, the United States and beyond, with instances reported across Europe, Asia and Australia. Its persistence serves as a reminder of the enduring connection between family names and the landscapes of their origin.
Typical given names associated with the Hulse surname
Male
- Andrew
- Anthony
- Christopher
- David
- John
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- Stephen
Female
- Anne
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Joan
- Julie
- Karen
- Linda
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
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 Hulse in...
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Morse
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There are approximately 4,110 people named Hulse in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,266th most common surname in Britain. Around 63 in a million people in Britain are named Hulse.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Hulse
- Rob Hulse - Football player
- Sir Edward Hulse, 7th Baronet - (1889 to 1915)
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.