# Dobson (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/dobson/  
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) | 19,419 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,846 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 15,899 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.9% (18,342 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdɑb.sən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Robert + -son.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Dobson 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) | 77% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 17% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.8% |
| Two or more races | 2.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Dobson in the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

## People named Dobson

- John Dobson, American amateur astronomer (1915–2014)
- Kevin Dobson, American film and television actor (1943-2020)
- Tamara Dobson, American actress and model (1944–2006)
- James Dobson, American Evangelical Christian psychologist, author, and radio broadcaster (1936–2025)
- Anita Dobson, British actress and singer
- Chris Dobson, British chemist (1949-2019)
- Peter Dobson, American actor
- Frank Dobson, British artist (1886–1963)
- Dominic Dobson, American racing driver

## Similar surnames

Dobkin, Davison, Davisson, Devaughn, Dubuisson.

## 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.