# Wilson (name)

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{{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](/source/English-speaking_world), with several distinct origins. The name is derived from a [patronymic](/source/patronymic) form of ''Will'', a popular medieval name. The medieval ''Will'' is derived from any of several names containing [Old Norse](/source/Old_Norse) or the first [Germanic](/source/Germanic_languages) 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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/List_of_people_with_given_name_Wilson) can also be a [given name](/source/given_name).

==See also==
* [Willson](/source/Willson_(name)), a variant of the surname
* [Williamson](/source/Williamson_(surname)), another variant of the surname
* [Williams](/source/Williams_(surname)), a surname that also means "son of William"
* [List of people with surname Wilson](/source/List_of_people_with_surname_Wilson)
* [List of people with given name Wilson](/source/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](/source/es%3AWilson)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Wilson (name)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_(name)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_(name)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.