Judson
A patronymic surname meaning “son of Judd,” with Judd itself a short form of Jude/Judah.
The #7,524 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 69,820 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Judson is an English patronymic built from the personal name Judd plus the suffix -son, literally meaning “son of Judd.” Judd was a familiar medieval pet form of Jude, a name ultimately from Hebrew Yehudah (Judah). Some older writers also treated Judd as related to the nickname or shortened form used for Jude, and a few speculated about other influences, but the main explanation is straightforward patronymic formation.
History
Early records place the surname in England by the 14th century, and one 19th-century source notes early Judson families in Yorkshire, especially around the Leeds area. The name later established itself in both England and America, where it remains most strongly associated with English roots rather than any occupational meaning. Variant forms and spelling shifts such as Jutson and Juxon appear in older sources.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A few historical writers tried to explain Judson as something like “Jew’s son,” but the standard genealogy is simply “son of Judd.”
From the historical record
“JUDKINS. See Judd. JUDSON. 1. See Jude. 2. See Judd. Most of the Judsons, both in England and America, trace their origin to the neighbourliood of Leeds, and the surname is still common in Yorkshire. JUGG. Perhaps the sign of an inn. JUGLER. Does not imply either a shuffling, dishonest jierson, or one skilled in…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom