Marion
Usually a medieval pet form of Mary, later used as a surname and sometimes also taken from French given-name use.
The #2,446 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 20,894 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Marion is best understood as a diminutive form of Mary, passing into surname use from a familiar personal name. The deeper root of Mary is traditionally linked to Hebrew, though older writers often noted the French diminutive ending -on as part of the form. In some families, the name may also reflect French given-name usage rather than a direct English nickname.
History
Older surname books usually treat Marion as one of the many medieval baptismal surnames formed from a parent’s given name, in this case Mary. It appears in English records alongside other pet-name surnames such as Perrin, Robin, and Colin. The same form later became widely known through French as a given name and through the word marionette, which was associated with Marion as a diminutive of Mary.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The puppet-word marionette was popularly connected with Marion as a diminutive of Mary, which helped keep the name recognizable long after its medieval surname origins.
From the historical record
“-f O.E. gold (from the colour]; MARION ) (A.-Fr.-Heb.) dims, of Mary = MARYON (Bitterness [Heb. Mdrdh; with the Fr. dim. suff. -on] MARISON, Mary's Son. , Confused with Morlson, q.v. Marjoribanks”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)