Parson Family History
Parson Name Meaning
English: status name or nickname from Middle English persone persoun ‘priest parson’ (Old French persone). The status of medieval bearers of the surname is uncertain. Priests were generally known by a habitational name rather than by a surname denoting their role in the church. They were not allowed to marry but doubtless many had illegitimate children some of whom may have been given Parson as a surname. Some of the original bearers may have been given it as a nickname (compare Priest Bishop Monk ) or it may have been an occupational name for someone who worked for the parson (a shortened form of Personesservaunt perhaps). English: in northern England and the North Midlands especially it is often a variant of Pearson . For the change in vowel compare Parr . Americanized form of Swedish Pärsson Pehrsson (see Pehrson ) or Persson patronymics from vernacular shortened forms of the personal name Peter . Americanized form of one or more similar (like-sounding) Jewish names.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
