Find out how popular the last name Coulson is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Coulson.

Coulson, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Coulson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Coulson in America

Coulson is the 6792nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Coulson surname appeared 4,966 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Coulson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Coulson to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Coulson

The surname Coulson originated in England, deriving from the Old English words "col" meaning coal and "sunu" meaning son. It was an occupational name given to those whose trade involved working with coal, such as coal miners or charcoal burners.

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century, with mentions in medieval records such as the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where a person named Adam Colsone is listed. The surname also appears in the Calendarium Genealogicum, a manuscript from the late 13th century, which includes the entry "Coulson de Hepworth" from Yorkshire.

In the 14th century, the name can be found in various manorial records and court rolls, such as the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, which list a John Colson in 1348. The Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379 also contain the name William Colson.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William Coulson, a merchant from York who lived in the late 14th century. Another notable figure was John Coulson, a clergyman and author who was born in Yorkshire in 1592 and wrote several religious texts.

In the 17th century, the surname appears in the parish records of various English counties, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Northumberland. A prominent individual from this period was Thomas Coulson, a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers) who was born in Yorkshire in 1631 and was persecuted for his religious beliefs.

During the 18th century, the Coulson family established themselves in various parts of England, with branches in counties such as Northumberland, Durham, and Lancashire. One notable figure was Nathaniel Coulson, a botanist and writer from Yorkshire who lived from 1735 to 1805.

In the 19th century, the surname continued to be found across England, with concentrations in northern counties like Yorkshire and Durham. Some individuals of note from this period include William Coulson, a surgeon and medical author from Durham who lived from 1804 to 1877, and John Coulson, a mathematician and professor at the University of Cambridge who was born in 1816.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Coulson

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Coulson.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Coulson was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Coulson has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Coulson was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Coulson, please contact us.

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