Popularity of the last name by country
United States
- Virginia (12,608)
- California (9,772)
- Maryland (8,286)
- Illinois (6,042)
- Pennsylvania (5,637)
- Missouri (5,153)
- Ohio (4,567)
- New York (4,462)
- North Carolina (4,300)
- Kentucky (3,984)
- Michigan (3,181)
- Indiana (3,157)
- Colorado (2,782)
- West Virginia (2,539)
- Iowa (2,219)
- Texas (2,113)
- Kansas (1,847)
- Georgia (1,796)
- New Jersey (1,528)
- Massachusetts (1,468)
- Tennessee (1,422)
- Connecticut (1,132)
- Arkansas (999)
- Washington (983)
- Alabama (948)
- Oklahoma (896)
- South Carolina (887)
- Minnesota (871)
- Wisconsin (707)
- Mississippi (697)
- Nebraska (694)
- Utah (687)
- Louisiana (665)
- Montana (635)
- Florida (563)
- Oregon (457)
- Arizona (420)
- Idaho (417)
- North Dakota (373)
- Delaware (311)
- Maine (296)
- New Mexico (286)
- Vermont (285)
- South Dakota (241)
- Wyoming (143)
- Nevada (118)
- New Hampshire (114)
- Rhode Island (90)
- Alaska (86)
- Hawaii (78)
All countries
- United Kingdom (371,000)
- United States (98,793)
- Ireland (17,540)
- Australia (16,249)
- New Zealand (13,179)
- Canada (6,045)
- France (3,863)
- Unknown country (3,591)
- Germany (443)
- Belgium (439)
- Netherlands (417)
- Italy (291)
- India (289)
- Switzerland (212)
- Peru (210)
- Spain (181)
- South Africa (145)
- Colombia (134)
- Poland (120)
- Mexico (115)
- Sweden (101)
- Russian Federation (88)
- Egypt (78)
- Martinique (77)
- Turkey (73)
- Brazil (66)
- Austria (61)
- Denmark (60)
- China (58)
- Jamaica (57)
- Portugal (57)
- Argentina (54)
- Indonesia (53)
- Greece (50)
- Algeria (42)
- Samoa (40)
- Sri Lanka (39)
- Israel (37)
- Myanmar (37)
- Paraguay (37)
Origine of last name
DAWSON : 1: English: patronymic meaning ‘son of Dawe’ from the Middle English personal name Daw(e) (see <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/Daw">Daw</a> 1 and 2) which is sometimes a pet form of <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/David">David</a> (see 2 below) but more generally of Rauf or Raw (i.e. <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/Ralph">Ralph</a>) of which Daw(e) is a rhyming form. Alternatively the patronymic could mean ‘son of Daud(e)’ another Middle English pet form of <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/Ralph">Ralph</a> evidently used interchangeably with Dawe. Dawson is one of the most numerous patronymics.2: Scottish: patronymic ‘son of Dawe’. In Scotland Dawe is a diminutive of <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/David">David</a> (compare 1 above).
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