Pearson

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A proper noun referring to a common English surname or a name of institutions and companies derived from it, often relating to education or publishing
2. The designation of a family name frequently used as a brand or title for various organizations primarily involved in learning materials and assessments
3. An English last name serving as an identifier for individuals and entities, notably recognized in contexts of educational resources and corporate identities

Etymology: "Pearson" is a patronymic: a son of Piers. "Piers" is the medieval English form of Peter, borrowed from Old French "Pierre", which in turn came from the Latin "Petrus" and the Greek "petros", meaning "stone" or "rock". So the surname means, literally, "son of Peter," and the Peter it refers to is the rock on which Christ is said to have built his church. The suffix "-son" is the ordinary Old English word for "son," and English families built surnames this way for centuries, as with Johnson, Dawson and Robertson. In "Pearson" the first name has been pronounced and spelled in its Middle English form, so the link to Peter is easy to miss. Peter itself was among the most common given names in medieval England, which is why so many families took surnames from it.