HOCKDAY. HOCKADAY. An ancient festival, which commenced the fifteenth day after Easter, was called indifferently Hokeday or Hocktide. There is much uncertainty as to the origin of the customs attending it, as well as to the etymology of the word. For what is known of both, see Brand's Popular Antiquities, edit. Ellis, i. 81, 109, &c. The surname must have been originally imposed on the same principle as that which gave rise to Christmas, Pentecost, Easter, &c. See Times and Seasons.

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.