Pierson

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name of English or Dutch origin, borne by various people ; a small town in the United States named after a person
2. A surname shared by many individuals across generations ; the name of a small American community founded in the nineteenth century
3. Used as a family name for numerous people ; also the name given to a small town in the United States

Etymology: "Pierson" is a surname-style noun built from "Piers," the English form of Peter, plus the suffix "-son," meaning "son of." It works the same way as Peterson or Jackson: a "Pierson" was originally the son of a man named Piers. Piers itself came into English from Old French and ultimately traces back to the Latin "Petrus," borrowed from the Greek "petros," meaning "stone" or "rock." The suffix "-son" is an ordinary Germanic element in English naming. Surnames formed this way were common across medieval England, and many have since spread into general use as ordinary family names. The same pattern gave English words and names such as Robertson and Dickson, all built on a given name plus "-son."