Paulson
A patronymic surname meaning “son of Paul,” from the given name Paul.
The #1,857 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,972 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Paulson is an English patronymic surname built from the given name Paul plus “son,” meaning literally “son of Paul.” The personal name Paul comes from Latin Paulus, meaning “small” or “humble,” and entered English through Christian tradition. Historical forms also show spellings such as Pawson, Powlson, and Paulsoun, reflecting regional pronunciation and spelling variation.
History
The name is recorded in medieval English sources in several spellings, and early writers consistently treated it as a surname formed from the forename Paul. Related spellings like Pawson and Powlson often overlap in historical records because English spelling was not yet fixed. The surname is especially familiar in English-speaking countries and later spread to North America, where Paulson remains the standard form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older sources note that forms like Pawson or Powlson could be pronounced much like “Paulson,” which is why the written record can look more varied than the spoken name.
From the historical record
“PAULL, V. Paul. PAULSON, Paul's Son : v. Paul. PAUNCEFOOTl (A.-Fr.iat.) oqcur in our PAUNCEFOTE J I3th-cent. records as Pance- fot, Pancevot, the Domesday Pancevolt =, ■ Arched Paunch (evid. a nickname for a corpulent person) [O.Fr. pakce (rriod. panse), Lat. pantex, -ids, the belly + O.Fr. volt{e, vaulted, arched…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)