Nicolson Surname

54,308th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 9,373 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Scotland
Highest density in:
Scotland

Nicolson Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Nicholas,' from Nichol or Nicol, the nick.; v. Nicholas. Nichol always held a fair place in popular favour, as our directories of to-day amply prove. But Collin (which see) was probably the greater favourite.

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Nicolson Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland2,9251:1,830338
Australia1,9751:13,6691,958
England1,4871:37,4704,892
United States9201:393,97734,555
New Zealand6671:6,7891,145
Canada6601:55,8276,606
South Africa3141:172,54019,109
France611:1,088,897118,069
Wales521:59,5105,360
Venezuela371:816,32613,210
Singapore301:183,5907,666
India261:29,502,515369,827
Northern Ireland221:83,8655,605
Argentina211:2,035,401100,871
Netherlands171:993,36365,241
Sweden171:579,22142,433
Brazil161:13,379,646256,605
Thailand161:4,414,897343,519
Germany111:7,318,678235,042
Russia101:14,412,306394,810
Zimbabwe91:1,715,36084,476
United Arab Emirates81:1,145,28440,289
Malaysia71:4,213,461150,293
Hong Kong61:1,222,5805,222
Jersey51:19,8403,614
Norway41:1,285,57269,185
Bahrain41:337,1526,054
Spain41:11,688,009116,470
Finland31:1,832,23457,803
Ecuador31:5,301,94930,184
Vietnam21:46,323,0275,235
Haiti21:5,341,95421,336
Suriname11:552,6169,664
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Trinidad and Tobago11:1,363,97522,013
Tunisia11:610,62630,336
Uzbekistan11:30,929,14267,786
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Armenia11:2,930,18022,770
Zambia11:15,849,92253,989
Angola11:26,989,21411,853
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
Ethiopia11:97,546,26229,669
Luxembourg11:580,54215,155
Ghana11:27,020,69223,742
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Grenada11:108,5351,793
Iceland11:380,09011,096
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
Jamaica11:2,869,94713,896
Kenya11:46,179,900103,372
Lesotho11:2,032,55823,402
Solomon Islands11:580,02922,243
Montenegro11:639,5659,092
New Caledonia11:276,22310,363
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Oman11:3,687,97114,390
Pakistan11:178,643,885213,220
Panama11:3,912,25817,195
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Chile11:17,616,47493,597
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland231:192,6039,322
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland3,2791:1,142200
England1971:123,73311,673
Wales21:784,20816,349
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States3001:167,39615,152

Nicolson (1,469) may also be a first name.

Nicolson Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Nicholas,' from Nichol or Nicol, the nick.; v. Nicholas. Nichol always held a fair place in popular favour, as our directories of to-day amply prove. But Collin (which see) was probably the greater favourite.

William fil. Nicoll, Salop, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

John Nicole, Oxfordshire, ibid.

Stephen Nichole, Oxfordshire, ibid.

Alicia Nicholmayden and Robertus Nichol-man (i.e. the servant of Nichol), 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Nichol Gurdelere, Close Rolls, 21 Edward III. pt.

John Niccolson, temp. Elizabeth: Calendar of Pleadings, temp. Elizabeth I.

1562. Baptised — Joane Nichollsonne: St Peter, Cornhill.

1575. Thomas Nicolls, Middlesex: Register of the University of Oxford.

Nycall Spyght, 1602: Nicolson and Burn, History Westm. and Cumb.

1687. James Nickleson and Ann Goodman: Marriage Alleg. (Canterbury).

1707. Married — Robert Nicholls and Elizabeth Moye: St. Antholin (London).

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

'son of Nic(h)ol,' q v. Maucolum fiz Nicol rendered homage in 1296 (Bain, II, 816). William Nicholai (Latin genitive) or Nycholayi was burgess of Glasgow 1419-21 (LCD., p. 241), Gilbert Nicholai was vicar of Auferde (Alford) in 1435 (REB., II, 52), and Patrick Nicholai, presbyter of Brechin, 1436, appears in 1448 as Patrik Nicholsone, perpetual chaplain of Caldhame (ibid., I, 82,106). Michael Nycholson leased pert of Parcy (Persie), 1443, and Gylbryd Nycholay in 1446 (Cupar-Angus, I, p. 120,128), Matthew Nicholay, witness in Aberdeen, 1489 (REA., II, p. 303), and John Nicholsoun was burgess of Dumfries, 1544 (Anderson). Ailleis Neclasson had remission in 1547 for his share in taking and holding the Casde of Akirgill, Caithness (OPS., II, p. 778), and Mallie Niclasson is recorded in the Boigis, 1663 (Caithness). The Nicolsons of Lasswade are an old family, knighted in seventeenth century. Sir William Nicolson (d. 1766), four times married, was father of twenty-three children. The Nicholsons of Skye have Englished their name from Macnicol, which see. Necolson 1474, Nicollsoun 1624, Nucolsone 1655, Nycholsoun 1483.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

Nicol’s Son: v. Nicol.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

The son of Nicholas. Most families of this name trace to the counties of Northumberland and Cumberland. It is not improbable that they are descended from the great Anglo-Norman family of Fitz-Nigell or Nicholl. See Nicholl.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Nicholson. —With few exceptions confined to the northern half of England, being most frequent in Cumberland and Northumberland, and afterwards in Durham and in the adjacent parts of Yorkshire. It is noticeable that Nixon, a contraction of this name, is also restricted to the northern half of England, being most numerous in Cheshire and Northumberland. From the north of England the Nicholsons and Nicolsons have extended into the Scottish border counties, especially into Dumfriesshire.

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

Nicolson Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Nicolson Come From? nationality or country of origin

Nicolson is found most frequently in Scotland. It can be rendered as a variant:. Click here for other potential spellings of this surname.

How Common Is The Last Name Nicolson? popularity and diffusion

The last name Nicolson is the 54,308th most common surname worldwide. It is borne by around 1 in 777,504 people. The surname Nicolson is mostly found in Europe, where 49 percent of Nicolson live; 48 percent live in Northern Europe and 48 percent live in British Isles. Nicolson is also the 203,151st most widely held first name world-wide, held by 1,469 people.

The surname is most frequent in Scotland, where it is carried by 2,925 people, or 1 in 1,830. In Scotland Nicolson is most common in: Highland, where 20 percent live, Shetland, where 11 percent live and Glasgow City, where 7 percent live. Besides Scotland this last name exists in 63 countries. It is also common in Australia, where 21 percent live and England, where 16 percent live.

Nicolson Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Nicolson has changed through the years. In Scotland the share of the population with the surname declined 11 percent between 1881 and 2014; in England it expanded 755 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it expanded 307 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Wales it expanded 2,600 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it declined 96 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Nicolson Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those bearing the last name is principally Anglican (65%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Nicolson last name are 14.08% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 60.85% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Nicolson earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 23.19% more than the national average, earning 426,352 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 63.05% more than the national average, earning R 387,480 per year; in United States they earn 14.93% more than the national average, earning $49,593 USD per year and in Canada they earn 0.86% more than the national average, earning $50,110 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

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Nicolson Reference & Research

Nicholson FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions.

Nicholson FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Nicolson
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis