{{short description|Name}} {{about|the name|people who share this surname|list of people with surname Wilson|people who share this given name|list of people with given name Wilson|other uses|Wilson (disambiguation)}}
'''Wilson''' is a British and Irish surname, common in the English-speaking world, with several distinct origins. The name is derived from a patronymic form of ''Will'', a popular medieval name. The medieval ''Will'' is derived from any of several names containing Old Norse or the first Germanic element ''wil'', meaning “will” or "desire".<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Wilson-family-history.ashx |title=Wilson Family History |publisher=Ancestry.com |access-date=16 February 2012 |archive-date=30 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230142049/http://www.ancestry.com/facts/wilson-family-history.ashx |url-status=live }}. This webpage cited: {{citation |title=Dictionary of American Family Names |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-508137-4 }}.</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Hanks |first1=Patrick |last2=Hardcastle |author-link1=Patrick Hanks |first2=Kate |last3=Hodges |first3=Flavia |title=A Dictionary of First Names |edition=2nd |series=Oxford Paperback Reference |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-861060-1 |page=276 }}.</ref>
The surname ''Wilson'' is first recorded in England as ''Willeson'' in 1324<ref>{{Cite book|last=Reaney|first=P. H.|title=A Dictionary of English Surnames|date=1995-08-10|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0198631460|editor-last=Wilson|editor-first=R. M.|edition=3rd|pages=495}}</ref> and in Scotland as ''Wulson'' in 1405.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Black|first=George F.|title=Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History|date=2015-02-12|publisher=Churchill & Dunn, Ltd|isbn=978-1626540590|pages=817}}</ref>
It is the seventh most common surname in England,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://forebears.co.uk/surnames/wilson |title=Wilson Surname at Forebears |access-date=2015-01-07 |archive-date=2015-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150126023707/http://forebears.co.uk/surnames/wilson |url-status=live }}</ref> and tenth most common in the United States,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Smith: America's Most Common Surnames|url=http://blogs.ancestry.com/cm/2014/07/08/hello-mr-and-mrs-smith-americas-most-common-surnames/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208211900/http://blogs.ancestry.com/cm/2014/07/08/hello-mr-and-mrs-smith-americas-most-common-surnames/|archive-date=2014-12-08|access-date=2015-01-08|website=blogs.ancestry.com}}</ref> occurring 783,051 times as of 2000.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Frequently Occurring Surnames from the Census 2000|url=https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2000_surnames.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729181924/https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2000_surnames.html|archive-date=2017-07-29|access-date=2017-07-19|website=census.gov}}</ref>
Wilson is the third most common surname in Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-09-25|title=100 Most Common Surnames|url=https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/births/popular-names/archive/100-most-common-surnames|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418103614/https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/births/popular-names/archive/100-most-common-surnames|archive-date=2019-04-18|access-date=2019-04-18}}</ref>
Wilson can also be a given name.
==See also== * Willson, a variant of the surname * Williamson, another variant of the surname * Williams, a surname that also means "son of William" * List of people with surname Wilson * List of people with given name Wilson
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson}} Category:English masculine given names Category:English-language surnames Category:masculine given names Category:patronymic surnames Category:surnames derived from given names Category:surnames of English origin Category:surnames of Scottish origin es:Wilson