# Coulson (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/coulson/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname originating as a patronymic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 4,966 |
| US rank (2010) | 6,792 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 62,172 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.2% (4,765 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkoʊl.sən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Cole + -son.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Coulson in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 91% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 2.7% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.9% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Coulson in the United Kingdom and the United States.

## People named Coulson

- Christian Coulson, British actor
- Catherine Coulson, American actress (1943–2015)
- Charles Coulson, British applied mathematician, theoretical chemist and religious author (1910–1974)

## Similar surnames

Clawson, Colson, Collison, Cullison, Clauson, Closson, Chilson, Colquhoun, Calkins, Clausen, Callaghan, Colgan.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.