Hanson
A surname usually meaning “son of Hans,” with Hans being a familiar short form of John.
The #276 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,778 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hanson is a patronymic surname built from Hans, a familiar form of Johannes, the Latin form of John. In this sense it originally meant “son of Hans” or “son of John.” Some older writers also noted spellings and related forms where the ending -son was reduced or altered in pronunciation and writing.
History
The surname is well established in England and the Low Countries, and it became common in North America through later British and Scandinavian immigration. Older surname dictionaries consistently connect it with Hans rather than with the word handsome, though that folk explanation was occasionally mentioned. Related forms such as Hampson and Hansom reflect similar spelling shifts in English surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century writers discussed whether Hanson might come from “handsome,” but they generally rejected that idea in favor of the much more ordinary name Hans.
From the historical record
“hero. HANSON. See John. HANWAY. a native of Hainault. That country was so called until temp. Henry VIII. HAN^\^ELL. A parish in Middlesex, and another in Oxfordshire. HANWORTH. Parishes in Middlesex, Norfolk, and Lincoln.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom