How common is the surname Dickson?

35,312 people in the United States had the surname Dickson in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,743 Americans. It ranked 986th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Dickson?

Leonard Eugene Dickson, American mathematician (1874–1954), followed by Gloria Dickson.

Where is the surname Dickson most common?

Wikidata records people named Dickson in the United States and Australia.

How do you pronounce Dickson?

Dickson is /ˈdɪksən/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Dickson getting more or less common?

More common. 34,698 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 35,312 in 2010, up 1.8%.

Is Dickson also a first name?

Yes. Dickson is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Dickson

A patronymic surname, carried by 35,312 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈdɪksən/ 2 syllables Soundex D250

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Dickson is more common than 99.4% of them.

Origin

From Dick + -son.

Dickson is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 35,312 people named Dickson in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 8,743 Americans. That is up 1.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 34,698.

#986

rank among US surnames

35,312

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+1.8%

change since 2000 (was #915)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#977	Proctor	35,636	8,664
#978	Lu	35,628	8,666
#979	Hinton	35,606	8,671
#980	Novak	35,461	8,707
#981	Good	35,446	8,710
#982	Madden	35,438	8,712
#983	Terrell	35,408	8,720

Who is named Dickson

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

76% of people named Dickson identified as white (not Hispanic), 17% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 76%
Black (not Hispanic) 17%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.1%
Two or more races 2.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.4%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Dicksons

9 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Leonard Eugene Dickson
American mathematician (1874–1954)
Gloria Dickson
American actress (1917–1945)
Peter Dickson
Australian rower (1945–2008)
David Dickson
Australian swimmer, Olympic bronze medallist, former world record-holder, born 1941
Brandon Dickson
American baseball player, born 1984
Earle Dickson
American engineer (1892–1961)
Brenda Dickson
American actress, born 1949
Michael Dickson
Australian player of American football, born 1996
Kitty Dukakis
American author (1936–2025)

Notable Dicksons come mostly from the United States (6) and Australia (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Dixion
Dixon

Surnames that sound like Dickson

Dickson has the Soundex code D250, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code D250.

Questions

Where does the surname Dickson come from?: From Dick + -son.
How common is the surname Dickson?: 35,312 people in the United States had the surname Dickson in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,743 Americans. It ranked 986th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Dickson?: In the 2010 Census, 76% of people named Dickson identified as white (not Hispanic), and 17% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Dickson?: Leonard Eugene Dickson, American mathematician (1874–1954), followed by Gloria Dickson.
Where is the surname Dickson most common?: Wikidata records people named Dickson in the United States and Australia.
How do you pronounce Dickson?: Dickson is /ˈdɪksən/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Dickson?: Dickson is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Dickson getting more or less common?: More common. 34,698 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 35,312 in 2010, up 1.8%.
What are other spellings of Dickson?: Dixion and Dixon.
Is Dickson also a first name?: Yes. Dickson is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.