Fudge
An English surname with more than one possible source, including a Cornish place-name and a name linked in older books to “furnace” or “hearth.”
The #7,545 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 70,058 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Fudge is not securely explained, and older writers offered more than one derivation. One Cornish source connects Fudge, Fuge, and Fugo with a word for a house or hearth, ultimately suggesting a place-name sense tied to a dwelling or fire-place. Other 19th-century surname books treat it as a locational name from Devon or related to continental place-names, so the exact origin may differ by family line.
History
The name appears in English surname collections mainly in the West Country, especially in Devon and Cornwall. Later reference works often grouped Fudge with related forms such as Fudger and Fuge, showing that spelling varied considerably. The surname is now best known in English-speaking countries, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century Cornish etymologist explicitly grouped Fudge with Fuge and Fugo, making this one of the more unusual surnames to be tied to a hearth or furnace image.
From the historical record
“gwyriy the white hill or promontory. FUDGE, FUGE, FUGO. Fuge is from foge, a blowing, house ; from fok^ a hearth, furnace, fire-place. Hence pro- bably the names Fugo and Fudge. FURSE, FURZE. From fors, vors, for ford, a way. There is a place called Furze Park in Lansalloes. COENU-BBITANNIC A. 4 1”
— Patronymica Cornu-Britannica; or, the etymology of Cornish surnames