Parson
A surname that usually began as a nickname or occupational name for a parish priest, though it may sometimes simply be a variant of Pearson.
The #2,727 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 23,374 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Parson comes from Middle English and Anglo-Norman words for a parish priest, ultimately from Latin persona, which originally meant “person” or “representative.” In medieval English, a parson was the cleric in charge of a parish, so the surname could be given to someone who held that office or who was associated with it. Some 19th-century writers also thought it may in certain cases be a spelling or sound variant of Pearson, “son of Peter,” so not every family with the name necessarily descends from an actual priest.
History
Early records show the name in medieval England in forms such as le Persone and Parson. It appears later as both Parson and Parsons, and some genealogists treated it as an ecclesiastical surname, alongside Priest, Deacon, and similar names. The name is also found in English-speaking countries outside Britain, especially through later migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Chaucer used the word in The Canterbury Tales for the good village priest, which helped make the title familiar in English literature.
From the historical record
“Pceghere in the geuit. case] PARSON (A.-Fr.-Lat.) Person (of Rank); Priest [il.F,.' persone, persoun, O.f'r. persone ; Lat. persona] Walter le Persone.— Par/. Rolls. A good man was ther of religioun. And was a poure persoun of a toun. — ■ Chaucer, Cant. Tales, A 477-8. (A.-Fr.-Gr. -|- E.) = Pearson, q.v. PARSONAGE…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)