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

Mathieson, 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 Mathieson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mathieson in America

Mathieson is the 15418th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mathieson surname appeared 1,900 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Mathieson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mathieson 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 Mathieson

The surname Mathieson originated in Scotland, derived from the name Matthias, a Greek name meaning "gift of God." It first appeared in written records in the 12th century. The earliest recorded spelling was Matheson, found in records from the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.

The name is thought to have emerged from the patronymic tradition, where a son's surname was formed by adding "son" to his father's given name. In this case, Mathieson likely referred to the son of a man named Mathies or Matthy, which were common Scottish diminutive forms of Matthias.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Donald Mathieson, who was mentioned in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1506. The Mathiesons were a prominent clan in the Outer Hebrides, particularly on the Isle of Lewis and Harris, where they held lands from the 16th century onwards.

A notable figure in the clan's history was Sir James Mathieson, 1st Baronet (1805-1878), a Scottish merchant and politician. He founded the firm of James Mathieson & Co., which traded in sugar and other goods between the West Indies and Scotland.

Another prominent Mathieson was Sir James Mathieson, 2nd Baronet (1832-1906), who served as a Member of Parliament for Ross and Cromarty from 1892 to 1906. He was also a successful businessman and landowner in Scotland.

In the literary world, Thomas Mathieson (1818-1887) was a Scottish poet and journalist known for his works such as "The Gloamin' Buchts" and "Glenbruar Glen."

The name Mathieson has also been associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Mathieson's Croft on the Isle of Lewis and Mathieson's Island in the Outer Hebrides.

While the name is predominantly Scottish, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to immigration. For instance, John Mathieson (1805-1860) was a Scottish-born farmer and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales, Australia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mathieson

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

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 Mathieson 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 Mathieson 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 Mathieson was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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