If the surname Hull is of topographical origin, it may derive from the Old English hyll, denoting a "dweller on or by a hill" (making it a Middle English West Country and West Midlands variant of Hill),[1][2] or from a Welsh term for a rough, uneven place.[3] It may also be of locational origin, e.g., Kingston upon Hull on the River Hull in Yorkshire, or derive from the personal name Hulle, a pet form of Hugh.[4] The name spread from the British Isles throughout the Anglosphere.
The first notable bearer of the name in North America, a brother of the Rev. Joseph Hull, was George Hull (1590–1659) of Crewkerne, Somerset, who in 1630 sailed on the Mary and John from Plymouth, Devon, in cooperation with the Winthrop Fleet,[5] and helped in the Puritan founding of Dorchester, which he represented at the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Hull later surveyed lands for the new Colony of Connecticut, including Windsor and Wethersfield; helped found Fairfield; and served as a representative to the General Court and as assistant to his good friend Roger Ludlow, who appointed him associate magistrate for towns along the shoreline.[6][7][8]
Notable people with the surname Hull include:
