Hudson

(male) Transferred use of the surname, originally a patronymic from the medieval personal name Hudde, a name of complex origin. It is usually explained as a pet form of Hugh, but there was a pre-existing Old English personal name, Hūda, which may well still have been in use at the time of the Norman Conquest and have subsequently been absorbed by Hugh and its many diminutives. It appears that Hudde was also regarded as a pet form of Richard.