Frederickson
A patronymic surname meaning “son of Frederick,” ultimately tied to the Germanic personal name Frederick.
The #9,506 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 90,303 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Frederickson is a patronymic surname formed from the given name Frederick plus the English and Scandinavian-style suffix -son, meaning “son of.” Frederick itself comes from Germanic elements meaning roughly “peace” and “ruler,” so the full sense is “son of Frederick.” The surname is straightforwardly descriptive of descent rather than occupation or place.
History
The name is especially common in English-speaking countries where hereditary surnames were later supplemented by patronymics in immigrant communities. It is also found in North America among families of Scandinavian or German background, where -son surnames were very familiar. Historical surname dictionaries note it as a natural derivative alongside forms like Fredson.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same personal name gave rise to many shorter pet forms and surnames, including Fred, Fredson, and Frederickson.
From the historical record
“Francis gives Frank, Franks, Frankson, &c. Frederick gives Fred, Fredson, Frederickson, Fritz, &c. Geoffrey gives Jeffry, Jeffreys, Jeffries, Jeffs, Jefferds, Jeffers, Jefferson, &c. ; and perhaps Jepson.”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)