joseph hooker

Perhaps related to hooker “thief, pickpocket” (1560s), but most likely a reference to prostitutes hooking or snaring clients. Hook in the figurative sense of “that by which anyone is attracted or caught” is recorded from early 15c.; and hook (v.) in the figurative sense of “catch hold of and draw in” is attested from 1570s; in reference to “fishing” for a husband or a wife, it was in common use from c.1800. All of which makes the modern sense seem a natural step. Cf. French accrocheuse, raccrocheuse, common slang term for “street-walker, prostitute,” literally “hooker” of men.

The family name Hooker (attested from c.975 C.E.) would mean “maker of hooks,” or else refer to an agricultural laborer who used a hook (cf. Old English weodhoc “weed-hook”).