Anson
Anson is usually an English patronymic surname, often understood as a shortened form of names like Alanson or a variant related to Anne-derived forms.
The #8,128 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 75,691 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Anson has been explained in more than one way in older surname books. The most direct explanation is that it is a patronymic form, likely a reduced or contracted form of Alanson, meaning essentially “son of Alan.” Some early writers also connected it with names built on Anne, but that explanation is less secure and may reflect confusion with other similar surnames.
History
Victorian surname dictionaries commonly treated Anson as an English family name with a shortened, evolving form rather than as a straightforward place-name. The best-known bearer is Admiral George Anson (1697–1762), whose voyages made the name prominent in British history. Related spellings and apparent variants helped create some uncertainty in older scholarship, which is why several sources hedge between Alan-based and Anne-based explanations.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The celebrated 18th-century admiral George Anson helped put the surname firmly into the historical record.
From the historical record
“ANSLOW. A township in co. StaflTord. ANSON. Such names as An-son, Nel- son, Bet-son, &c., have been regarded as a sort of mctron}Tiiics, and therefore consi- dered indicative of illegitimac}' ; but I think there is little doubt of the former part of these names being in man)^ cases corruj)- tions of masculine…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom