Courson
A surname of French origin, probably from a place-name or from an Old French word for a short stump or branch.
The #9,953 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 95,174 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is usually treated as French in origin. In historical surname collections, it appears both as a place-based name and as a form connected with Old French courson, a word glossed as a branch, stump, or short offshoot, ultimately related to the idea of something short. The evidence in the older sources is not fully consistent, so the surname may have developed from more than one local or linguistic source.
History
Medieval English records show the name in forms such as Courson, and one source associates it with a branch in Norfolk and Suffolk recorded in Domesday. Later writers note that it was often confused with, or absorbed into, forms like Curzon, which helps explain why the surname appears in varied spellings in Britain. The name remains relatively uncommon in English-speaking countries today.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One early authority explicitly links COURSON with Curzon, showing how easily medieval surnames could shift spelling and identity over time.
From the historical record
“mentions the Sire de Coubrai. COURSON, a branch in Norfolk and Suffolk (Domesday). Now Cur z on. COURTENAY, an interpolation. Reginald de Courtenay did not come to England till the reign of Henry II., in consequence of his marriage with the heiress of Robert d'Avranches, Viscount of Devon. COURTEVILLE. CREVECCEUR…”
— Family Names and their Story