Hixon
A variant of Hickson, meaning “son of Hick,” ultimately from Richard.
The #6,649 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 60,645 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hixon is best understood as a shortened or altered form of Hickson. In turn, Hickson is a patronymic built from Hick, a medieval pet form of Richard. The literal sense is therefore “son of Hick,” and ultimately “son of Richard.”
History
19th-century surname writers treated Hixon as a spelling variant of Hickson, and by extension Hicks, all from the same Richard-based nickname. The form appears in English records and later in the United States, where it remained a relatively uncommon surname. Because X and KS spellings often interchanged in older English surnames, Hixon is a good example of that shifting orthography.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley explicitly groups Hixon with surnames like Dixon and Rixon as an example of how older English spellings could compress consonants into X.
From the historical record
“Z for ks and oka. Cf. Coxon for Cockson, Wilcoxon for Wilcockson (the son of William), Dixon for Dickson, Rixon for Rickson (Richard), Cox for Cocks, Hixon and Hix for Hickson and Hicks (Richard); cf. Baxter for Bakester (b female baker), Blaxter for Blakister (a female bleacher). F after m: cf. Thompson for…”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances