Origins of the Hoodless Name

Hoods and the wearing of them were a big deal back in the middle ages and one could argue that they still are today. Hoodies are garments with street cred, coveted and worn by “gangsters” all over the world, a symbol of belonging to a cool, tough crowd, a covering that lends itself to hiding your identity, protection from detection on many levels. This was also true for the middle ages.

The word “hood” in Old English stems from the Germanic word for covering, hat or helmet which provides protection. From this origin we also get words like “Neighbourhood” where ‘hood’ means an area where you and your tribe are protected by like minded people. The word “hoodlum” shortened to “hood” was coined to describe gangs in San Francisco in the 1870’s and is still in popular use today. And of course there is Robin Hood.

Then at some point among all these hood wearing folk there were the hood-less.

The Surname Database says the name was recorded as far back as 1294 with a William Hodlles of Yorkshire. Back then hoods were an essential garment worn for protection from the elements, even worn at night as a bed garment for warmth.

As different religious orders of monks and nuns established themselves from the early middle ages they used their hoods, cowls and robes to distinguish their order from others. Many people’s professions, origins or affiliation could be identified from a distance by the hoods they wore. It would seem then that the Hoodless name describes a person or persons who get noticed and stand out from the crowd because they’re not wearing a hood for some reason.

Maybe it was a conscious choice, or a statement or protest – I’m too good for a hood? Maybe their hoods were forcibly removed from them? Maybe they were so poor they couldn’t even afford a hood? The reason is lost in time, we are only guessing. For whatever reason the Hoodless were noted and their name has been passed down through time.

Variants

Hoodless, Hudless, Hudlass, Hoodlass, Hoodlesse,

UK Density