Wilson (name) explained

Wilson is an English, Scottish, and Northern Irish surname, common in the English-speaking world, with several distinct origins. The name is derived from a patronymic form of Will, a popular medieval name. The medieval Will is derived from any of several names containing Old Norse or the first Germanic element wil, meaning "desire".^[1] Possibly the most common of these names was William, derived from elements wil and helm, meaning "desire" and "helmet", "protection".^[2] The surname Wilson is first recorded in England as Willeson in 1324^[3] and in Scotland as Wulson in 1405.^[4]

It is the seventh most common surname in England,^[5] and tenth most common in the United States,^[6] occurring 783,051 times as of 2000.^[7] Wilson is also now quite common as a surname in many other countries with a large English-speaking population such as Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand.

Wilson is the third most common surname in Scotland.^[8] In the 16th and 17th century the surname was greatly increased in Ulster by the thousands of Scottish settlers and as a result of this settlement it is the most common surname in Northern Ireland.

Wilson can also be a given name.

See also

• Willson, a variant of the surname
• Williamson, another variant of the surname
• Williams, a surname that also means "son of William"
• List of people with surname Wilson
• List of people with given name Wilson

Notes and References

1. . This webpage cited: .
2. .
3. Book: Reaney, P. H.. A Dictionary of English Surnames. 1995-08-10. Oxford University Press. 978-0198631460. Wilson. R. M.. 3rd. 495.
4. Book: Black, George F.. Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History. 2015-02-12. Churchill & Dunn, Ltd. 978-1626540590. 817.
5. Web site: Wilson Surname at Forebears . 2015-01-07 . 2015-01-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150126023707/http://forebears.co.uk/surnames/wilson . live .
6. Web site: Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Smith: America's Most Common Surnames. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141208211900/http://blogs.ancestry.com/cm/2014/07/08/hello-mr-and-mrs-smith-americas-most-common-surnames/. 2014-12-08. 2015-01-08. blogs.ancestry.com.
7. Web site: Frequently Occurring Surnames from the Census 2000. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170729181924/https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2000_surnames.html. 2017-07-29. 2017-07-19. census.gov.
8. Web site: 2014-09-25. 100 Most Common Surnames. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418103614/https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/births/popular-names/archive/100-most-common-surnames. 2019-04-18. 2019-04-18.