Manson

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name primarily associated with an American criminal notorious for orchestrating multiple homicides in the late 1960s ; a proper noun identifying an individual linked to cult leadership and infamy ; a surname that may also identify other persons without the criminal connotation
2. A last name best known for its connection to a notorious cult leader responsible for heinous crimes ; a personal identifier used by individuals, some of whom may be unrelated to the infamous character ; a proper noun shared by various people or entities beyond the criminal association
3. A surname recognized chiefly for its association with a 20th-century cult figure involved in murder ; a family name used by various persons, sometimes without any negative implication ; an identifier that may denote different individuals or families distinct from the notorious figure

Etymology: Manson is a surname that began as a patronymic: "son of Magnus." The name Magnus comes from Latin and meant "great," and Scandinavian families formed surnames by adding "-son" to a father's given name, giving forms such as Magnusson in Sweden and Iceland, Magnussen in Denmark, and Magnusen in Norway. English speakers, who found the full Scandinavian forms awkward, shortened and anglicised the name into Manson, so an English surname with a Norse ancestry sits behind the familiar spelling. The "-son" ending does the same job it does in many other English surnames such as Johnson or Robertson, marking descent from a named father. Because the surname is simply a family-name formation, its origin has nothing to do with the criminal associated with it; that connection came much later and belongs to the modern usage of the name rather than its etymology.