Dixon
A classic patronymic surname meaning “son of Dick,” with Dick being a medieval nickname for Richard.
The #167 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 1,936 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Dixon comes from Dick + son, so its literal sense is “Dick’s son” or “son of Richard.” Dick was a very common medieval short form of Richard, and the surname developed as a patronymic from that nickname. Older spellings include Dickson, Dicson, Dykson, and Dixson.
History
The name is especially well established in England and Scotland, where Dickson and Dixon often appear as regional spelling variants of the same surname. Lower notes that Scottish records show many forms, including Dicson, Dykson, Dikson, and Diksoune, and even links one early family to Richard Keith. In Ireland, Woulfe also treated Dixon as a form related to Dickson.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is part of a larger family of medieval nickname surnames from Richard, alongside Richards, Richardson, Dickson, and even the much rarer Dix.
From the historical record
“who flourished about the time of Edw. III. DIXON is Dick's son, that is Richard's son. " In Scotland it has been variously writtenatdifferentperiods, as Dicson, Dyk- DOD 91 son, Dikson, Diksoun, Diksoune, Dixson, and Dickson. They are descended from one Richard Keith, said to be a son of the”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Dixon
- Alesha Dixon (b. 1978)
- Scott Dixon (b. 1980)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.