NameCensus.

UK surname

Matson

Derived from the name Matthew, meaning "gift of God," or from Matthias, meaning "gift of Yahweh."

In the 1881 census there were 712 people recorded with the Matson surname, ranking it #5,107 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 849, ranked #6,584, down from #5,107 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Hull Holy Trinity, London parishes and Knaresborough (Bilton and Harrogate, Scriven with Tentergate, Knaresborough), Pannall. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include South Holland, Mid Sussex and Shropshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Matson is 930 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 19.2%.

1881 census count

712

Ranked #5,107

Modern count

849

2016, ranked #6,584

Peak year

1911

930 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Matson had 712 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #5,107 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 849 in 2016, ranked #6,584.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 930 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Matson surname distribution map

The map shows where the Matson surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Matson surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Matson over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 570 #4,463
1861 historical 715 #3,807
1881 historical 712 #5,107
1891 historical 866 #4,738
1901 historical 910 #5,099
1911 historical 930 #4,827
1997 modern 864 #6,158
1998 modern 879 #6,281
1999 modern 878 #6,325
2000 modern 855 #6,429
2001 modern 836 #6,429
2002 modern 897 #6,211
2003 modern 865 #6,255
2004 modern 865 #6,274
2005 modern 851 #6,308
2006 modern 837 #6,387
2007 modern 832 #6,485
2008 modern 839 #6,501
2009 modern 863 #6,494
2010 modern 872 #6,569
2011 modern 866 #6,526
2012 modern 852 #6,519
2013 modern 851 #6,624
2014 modern 865 #6,575
2015 modern 848 #6,619
2016 modern 849 #6,584

Geography

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Where Matsons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Hull Holy Trinity, London parishes, Knaresborough (Bilton and Harrogate, Scriven with Tentergate, Knaresborough), Pannall, Brotton and Whittlesey St Mary and St Andrew, Standground (Stilton & Peterborough, Northamptonshire). These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to South Holland, Mid Sussex, Shropshire, Fenland and Swale. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Hull Holy Trinity Yorkshire, East Riding
2 London parishes London 3
3 Knaresborough (Bilton and Harrogate, Scriven with Tentergate, Knaresborough), Pannall Yorkshire, West Riding
4 Brotton Yorkshire, North Riding
5 Whittlesey St Mary and St Andrew, Standground (Stilton & Peterborough, Northamptonshire) Cambridgeshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 South Holland 004 South Holland
2 Mid Sussex 001 Mid Sussex
3 Shropshire 002 Shropshire
4 Fenland 008 Fenland
5 Swale 016 Swale

Forenames

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First names often paired with Matson

These lists show first names that appear often with the Matson surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Matson

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Matson, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Matson surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Matson household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Matson is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Matson is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Matson falls in decile 4 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Matson is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Matson, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Matson

The surname Matson originated in medieval England, derived from the Old English words "mat" meaning "meadow" and "sunu" meaning "son". It was a patronymic name given to the son of someone who lived near a meadow or grassy area.

The earliest known record of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Matessone" in Yorkshire. This suggests that the name was already established in northern England by the late 11th century.

In the 13th century, the name is found spelled variously as "Mattessone", "Matyson", and "Mattyson" in various manorial records and tax rolls from counties like Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Lincolnshire. This indicates the name's prevalence across the northern and eastern regions of England.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir William Matson, a knight who fought alongside King Edward I in the Scottish Wars of Independence in the late 13th century. Another notable figure was John Matson, a wealthy merchant and alderman in the city of York, who lived from around 1380 to 1455.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name began to appear in various forms such as "Mattson", "Mattison", and "Mattinson" as it spread to other parts of Britain and eventually to the American colonies. One prominent bearer was Thomas Matson, a Puritan settler who arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635 and later served as a representative in the colonial legislature.

In the 18th century, John Matson (1700-1772) was a notable English clergyman and author who served as the rector of St. Andrew's Church in Cambridge. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Benjamin Matson (1730-1814) was a Revolutionary War soldier from Pennsylvania who later became a prominent landowner and farmer.

As the name spread across the English-speaking world, it continued to be associated with various professions and fields. For example, in the 19th century, Hartvig Matson (1810-1875) was a Norwegian-American pioneer and businessman who founded the town of Matson, Wisconsin, while Nathaniel Matson (1842-1916) was an influential American journalist and publisher based in New York City.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Matson families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Matson surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Yorkshire leads with 253 Matsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.58x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 253 3.58x
Kent 148 6.07x
Middlesex 46 0.64x
Durham 26 1.22x
Lancashire 24 0.28x
Cambridgeshire 20 4.42x
Channel Islands 20 9.45x
Lincolnshire 19 1.66x
Surrey 15 0.43x
Fife 13 3.08x
Essex 12 0.85x
Northamptonshire 12 1.79x
Hampshire 10 0.68x
Worcestershire 10 1.07x
Lanarkshire 9 0.39x
Norfolk 9 0.82x
Stirlingshire 9 3.42x
Cheshire 8 0.51x
Huntingdonshire 8 5.64x
Staffordshire 8 0.33x
Glamorgan 7 0.56x
Dorset 5 1.07x
Gloucestershire 5 0.36x
Berkshire 4 0.75x
Herefordshire 4 1.37x
Derbyshire 3 0.27x
Dunbartonshire 3 1.56x
Leicestershire 3 0.38x
Somerset 3 0.26x
Sussex 3 0.25x
Devon 2 0.13x
Kinross-shire 2 11.08x
Midlothian 2 0.21x
Northumberland 2 0.19x
Anglesey 1 0.79x
Bedfordshire 1 0.27x
Oxfordshire 1 0.23x
Perthshire 1 0.31x
Warwickshire 1 0.06x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Holy Trinity in Yorkshire leads with 39 Matsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 22.92x.

Place Total Index
Holy Trinity 39 22.92x
Scarborough 34 52.89x
Leeds 19 4.76x
St Helier 19 27.58x
Bilton Cum Harrogate 15 61.98x
Sculcoates 15 13.37x
Faversham 14 60.27x
Ramsgate 14 35.20x
Whittlesey St Mary St 14 88.61x
Dunfermline 13 20.00x
Kensington London 11 2.77x
Raunds 10 146.20x
Wrangle 10 350.88x
Lofthouse 9 85.23x
Milton In Milton 9 86.87x
Thirsk 9 110.29x
Wingham 9 319.15x
Worcester All Sts 9 166.67x
Brotton 8 86.67x
Canterbury St Mary 8 48.93x
Greenwich 8 7.04x
Hanwell 8 63.19x
Preston Next Faversham 8 139.62x
Sittingbourne 8 41.58x
Charlton 7 43.26x
Deal 7 33.69x
Graveney 7 1129.03x
Hunslet 7 6.34x
Portsea 7 2.44x
Southcoates 7 17.82x
Bermondsey 6 2.82x
Brightside Bierlow 6 4.32x
Godmanchester 6 111.94x
Grewelthorpe 6 476.19x
Higham 6 182.37x
Little Wilbraham 6 594.06x
North Walsham 6 75.76x
South Shields 6 31.71x
Swansea Town 6 5.89x
Tamworth 6 46.55x
Wavertree 6 22.12x
Burton Cum Walden 5 458.72x
Gargunnock 5 292.40x
Glasgow 5 1.22x
Hornsea 5 111.36x
Maidstone 5 6.89x
Shotton 5 95.24x
Sicklinghall 5 909.09x
Thornaby 5 18.91x
Barony 4 0.68x
Bow London 4 4.40x
Bury 4 4.13x
Copt Hewick 4 689.66x
Drypool 4 36.93x
Folkestone 4 8.46x
Gloucester Barton St Mary 4 15.61x
Hackney London 4 1.00x
Hartlepool 4 13.25x
Kirkby Malzeard 4 258.06x
Mile End Old Town 4 3.55x
Monks Coppenhall 4 6.72x
Nawton 4 465.12x
Preston Le Skerne 4 1212.12x
Seasalter 4 129.87x
Stillington 4 272.11x
Stirling 4 12.05x
Thirkleby In Thirsk 4 625.00x
Tottington Higher End 4 41.49x
Whitby 4 16.77x
Wyke Regis 4 59.52x
Yafforth 4 869.57x
Armley 3 9.61x
Clifton In York 3 20.27x
Hulme 3 1.70x
Kirkintilloch 3 11.51x
Oldham 3 1.10x
Staindrop 3 93.17x
Stapenhill 3 18.03x
Stoke Edith 3 434.78x
Wells Next Sea 3 46.88x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Matson surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 54
Elizabeth 26
Emma 23
Sarah 21
Ann 19
Annie 16
Jane 16
Eliza 12
Margaret 11
Alice 8
Charlotte 7
Catherine 6
Edith 6
Emily 6
Florence 5
Louisa 5
Caroline 4
Ellen 4
Fanny 4
Lucy 4
Rebecca 4
Agnes 3
Amelia 3
Anne 3
Esther 3
Frances 3
Hannah 3
Harriett 3
Kate 3
Maria 3
Martha 3
Ada 2
Betsey 2
Elizth. 2
Harriet 2
Isabella 2
Maude 2
Agatha 1
Alma 1
Annbella 1
Becky 1
Dorothy 1
Eleanor 1
Eliz. 1
Elizh. 1
Geogina 1
Georgeanna 1
Georgina 1
Gertrude 1
Tamar 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Matson surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 50
William 35
Thomas 28
James 21
George 20
Henry 17
Robert 13
Frederick 12
Joseph 12
Alfred 7
Edward 7
Francis 7
Albert 6
Richard 6
Arthur 5
Charles 5
Frank 5
Wm. 5
Ernest 3
Herbert 3
Peter 3
Walter 3
Christopher 2
Daniel 2
David 2
Edwin 2
Willie 2
Allan 1
Andrew 1
Chas. 1
Cyril 1
Enos 1
Eustace 1
Florace 1
Fred 1
Fredk. 1
Fredrick 1
Georg 1
Gory 1
Jesse 1
Joe 1
Josseph 1
Lawerance 1
Lewis 1
Louis 1
Mark 1
Michael 1
Myers 1
Nills 1
Osborn 1

FAQ

Matson surname: questions and answers

How common was the Matson surname in 1881?

In 1881, 712 people were recorded with the Matson surname. That placed it at #5,107 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Matson surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 849 in 2016. That gives Matson a modern rank of #6,584.

What does the Matson surname mean?

Derived from the name Matthew, meaning "gift of God," or from Matthias, meaning "gift of Yahweh."

What does the Matson map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Matson bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.