Beason
A surname with likely English roots, probably from a place-name form meaning “from Rasen” or from a shortened patronymic “son of …”.
The #6,305 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 57,027 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical references connect Beason with a small group of similar surnames, including Beeson and Bayson, and suggest two possible origins. One is patronymic, meaning “the son of” a personal name now uncertain. The other is local, apparently from Rasen in Lincolnshire, with the surname arising as a dialectal or contracted form of “of Rasen.”
History
The name appears in English surname material as a variant form rather than a major independent surname. Bardsley treats the explanation as unsettled, which fits many medieval surnames that shifted spelling over time and were recorded inconsistently by parish clerks. In the United States, Beason is now a relatively uncommon surname but is well established through immigration and internal migration from English-speaking populations.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley grouped Beason with surnames that may preserve old local pronunciation, where a place-name like Rasen could be reduced to a form that later looked unrelated to the original source name.
From the historical record
“"^fioa (co. LfacoloX I- Beason, Beeaon, Bayeon.— (i) Bapt. ' the son of ' [.!). (a) Local,' 'of Rasen '(T). Several in- stances below suggest that t|io”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances