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

Payson, 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 Payson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Payson in America

Payson is the 21237th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Payson surname appeared 1,235 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Payson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Payson 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 Payson

The surname Payson originated in England during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "paeg" meaning "pagan" or "heathen" and "tun" meaning "town" or "village". The earliest known spelling was Pagehampton, referring to a place name meaning "the town inhabited by pagans".

The name first appeared in historical records in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. An entry listed a landowner named Radulfus de Pagehampton, likely referring to a village or manor with that name.

Over time, the place name evolved into various spellings such as Pagehampton, Payghampton, and eventually Payson by the 16th century. This transition from a place name to a surname was common during this period as people began using their place of origin as a family name.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Payson was John Payson, born around 1500 in Navenby, Lincolnshire, England. He was a wealthy landowner and his descendants continued to use the Payson surname.

Another notable figure was Edward Payson (1783-1827), an American Congregational preacher known for his evangelical writings and sermons. He was born in Rindge, New Hampshire, and served as a minister in Portland, Maine.

Sir Ralph Payson (1564-1628) was an English politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1627. He was a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers and played a role in the early colonization of Virginia.

In the 19th century, James Payson (1819-1885) was a prominent American politician and businessman from Illinois. He served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and was involved in various business ventures.

Lastly, John Payson Williston (1799-1874) was an American geologist and educator. He was a professor at Middlebury College in Vermont and made significant contributions to the study of geology in New England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Payson

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!