Epperson
An English and Scottish-style patronymic surname meaning “son of Epp,” with Epp probably a short form of Ebbe or a related medieval personal name.
The #2,798 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 23,963 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Epperson is generally understood as a patronymic: "son of Epp" or "son of Epps." In the historical material, Bardsley treats it alongside forms like Epps and Eppson and links it to a shortened personal name, likely Ebb or Ebbe, which was itself a medieval pet form. The first element may ultimately go back to an old Germanic name beginning with elements like ebb- or related short forms, but the surname itself is simply built with the English -son ending.
History
The name appears in English records in several spellings, especially Epps, Epps, Eppson, and Epperson. Bardsley explicitly treats Epperson as a variant in the same family as these shorter forms, rather than as a separate place-name surname. In the United States, Epperson became established as an inherited surname through English and later Anglo-American family lines.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The old surname scholar Bardsley grouped Epperson with Epps and Eppson, showing how often surname spellings shifted before modern standardization.
From the historical record
“Hobbs, and Hopkins for Mobiuns. Eppison below a manifestly Ebbc- 30I1. Witb the variant Epperson, cf. Patterson for PaCtison. Henry EUion. alias Ibbouon, eo. Yotk. TT.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances