Masterson
A patronymic surname meaning “son of the master” or “son of the one in charge.”
The #2,961 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 25,480 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is built from Middle English master, from Old French maistre, ultimately from Latin magister, meaning “teacher,” “chief,” or “one in authority.” The ending -son marks it as a patronymic, so Masterson originally meant “the master’s son.” Some 19th-century surname writers also treated it as a developed form alongside related names such as Masters and possibly Matts/Mates, but the main sense is clear.
History
The name appears in English records and later seems to have been comparatively uncommon in England, while one nineteenth-century source notes that it was more noticeable in New York. It is part of a broader family of surnames built from titles or occupations, alongside forms like Masters and Masterman. The surname also occurs in Ireland and Scotland in historical records, though not always from the same local source or family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century surname scholars explicitly grouped Masterson with other status-based names like Noble, Lord, and Laird, because it preserves an old social title in family-name form.
From the historical record
“Master's (Son) MASTERSON (A.-Fr.-Lat.) the Master's Son [M.E; maister, O.Ft. maistre, Lat. magister] MATES prob. = Matts, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)