Payson

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small town in Gila County in central Arizona, United States ; a family name of English origin carried by various people
2. A community in central Arizona in the United States ; a surname of English origin shared by many individuals
3. An Arizona town in Gila County, United States ; a hereditary family name of English origin

Etymology: "Payson" is a surname, and its structure is plain: it combines the given name "Pay" with the Old English "-son," meaning "son of," so it means roughly "son of Pay." Surnames of this type were common in England, where a father's first name became a family name for his children. Its precise source is uncertain. "Pay" may be a short form of an older name such as "Paien" or "Paul," but the sources I can rely on do not settle which, so the link is uncertain. Payson is also used as a place name, including towns in the United States, which were named after people who held the surname. Its origin there is the same surname, not a separate word.