Stinson
A variant of Stevenson, ultimately meaning “son of Stephen.”
The #1,317 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 11,572 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Stinson is generally treated as a reduced or altered form of Stevenson, a patronymic meaning “son of Stephen.” The underlying personal name Stephen comes from Greek Stephanos, meaning “crown” or “wreath.” The surname may have arisen through the loss or weakening of sounds in everyday speech and spelling, a common process in older English surnames.
History
19th-century surname writers such as Bardsley and Lower explicitly linked Stinson with Stevenson/Stephen rather than treating it as an independent source name. Related forms like Stimson show the same kind of sound change and shortening. The surname is found in Britain and Ireland and later became established in North America, as reflected by its modern U.S. census presence.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older genealogical dictionaries sometimes grouped Stinson with a whole cluster of lookalike forms, showing how flexible surname spelling could be in the past.
From the historical record
“ItImSOn'^}^"'^ Stinson, Steenson, q.v. STINSON, V. Steenson. STIRK "[(Eng.) a nickname (or sign-name) STIRKE J from the Bullock or Heifer [O.E. styric\ (Scand.) conf. with Sterk, q.v. STIRLAND (Eng.) Dweller at the Steer- Pasture [O.E. stSor (= Dut. stier), a steer, ox 4- land]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)