Melson
A surname most likely meaning “son of Male,” with Male as a medieval personal name rather than the modern word.
The #6,681 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 61,089 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as a patronymic, meaning “Male’s son.” In older English naming, Male was a personal name or byname, so Melson would originally have identified a man as the son of someone called Male. The spelling may also reflect later smoothing or alteration of that older name form.
History
The name is recorded by 19th-century surname scholars as an English patronymic, though the surviving evidence is not enough to prove a single fixed origin in every family. Like many short surnames, Melson may also have been influenced by local spelling variation over time. It is now relatively uncommon, with a small but established presence in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Despite looking modern, the name is tied to an older personal name and not to the word “male” in today’s sense of gender.
From the historical record
“bare + ros] MELSON, app. Male's Son : v. Male. MELTON (Eng.) Bel. to Melton for Milton = 1 the Mill-Stead [O.E. myln + tun] 2 the Middle Farm [O.E. middel+tun\ MENCE (Teut.-Lat.) a dim. of Lat. Clemens' V. Clement. MENDEL Iv. the Appendix of Foreign MENDELLJ Names.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)