Mathison
A surname that usually means “son of Matthew,” with Scottish and English forms often overlapping.
The #7,692 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 71,535 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Mathison is generally a patronymic surname meaning “son of Matthew.” The historical sources link it to the popular medieval pet form Mathie and to fuller forms such as Matthewson; one source also notes it may sometimes have been influenced by the similar surname Matherston. In modern terms, the core sense is “descendant of Matthew,” with Matthew ultimately from the Hebrew name Matityahu, “gift of God.”
History
The name appears in English records in several spellings, especially in northern counties such as Yorkshire, and it also occurs in Scotland. Nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century surname writers commonly grouped Mathison with Mathieson, Mattheson, and related forms as regional or spelling variants of Matthewson. It is distinct from the Scottish Gaelic surname MacMathan, which some older writers discussed separately.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One source explicitly warns that Mathison is not the same as the Gaelic MacMathan, despite the superficial resemblance.
From the historical record
“MATHIESON, 1 for Matthewson, q.v. MATHISON, I Prob. occ. also for Mather- son, q.v. MATHWIN (Eng.) Power -Friend [A.-Sax. Mathwine — v. under Mather 2, and -|- O.E. wine = O.Sax. O.H.Ger. zt)i«i=O.N. vin-r, friend], MATKIN, a double dim. of Matthew, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)