Last name: PARSON

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All you have to know about the last name PARSON

Last name frequency

PARSON : This last name is indexed 79,347 times on Geneanet!

Origin of last name

PARSON : 1: English: status name or nickname from Middle English persone persoun ‘priest parson’ (Old French persone). The status of medieval bearers of the surname is uncertain. Priests were generally known by a habitational name rather than by a surname denoting their role in the church. They were not allowed to marry but doubtless many had illegitimate children some of whom may have been given Parson as a surname. Some of the original bearers may have been given it as a nickname (compare Priest Bishop Monk) or it may have been an occupational name for someone who worked for the parson (a shortened form of Personesservaunt perhaps).2: English: in northern England and the North Midlands especially it is often a variant of Pearson. For the change in vowel compare Parr.3: Americanized form of Swedish Pärsson Pehrsson (see Pehrson) or Persson patronymics from vernacular shortened forms of the personal name Peter.4: Americanized form of one or more similar (like-sounding) Jewish names.

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