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

Pearson, 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 Pearson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pearson in America

Pearson is the 308th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pearson surname appeared 101,836 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 35 people would have the surname Pearson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pearson 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 Pearson

The surname PEARSON is of English origin and dates back to the late 12th century. It is a patronymic name, meaning "son of Piers", which was a common medieval English form of the name Peter. The name Peter derives from the Greek name Petros, meaning "rock" or "stone".

PEARSON was originally found in northern English counties such as Yorkshire and Lancashire. Early spellings of the name included Pereson, Peresson, Peirson, and Pierson. The "Pear" element of the name likely evolved from the earlier "Pier" or "Piers" forms.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name PEARSON appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1199, referring to a William Pearson. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also list several individuals with the surname PEARSON in various counties.

Notable historical figures with the surname PEARSON include Sir Richard Pearson (1731-1806), a British naval officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. John Pearson (1613-1686) was an English author and clergyman who wrote biographies of famous figures like John Donne and John Hales.

In the 16th century, a branch of the PEARSON family settled in the area of Torne, East Yorkshire, giving rise to the place name Pearson House. Another branch established themselves in the Howdenshire area, owning land called Pearson Flatt.

Other notable individuals with the PEARSON surname include Henry Pearson (1870-1916), an English cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England; Lancelot Pearson (1835-1906), an English architect known for designing the Royal College of Music; and Carl Pearson (1857-1936), an English mathematician and philosopher who established the modern field of statistics.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pearson

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

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

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

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