# Dodson (surname)

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

A surname transferred from the given name.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 37,566 |
| US rank (2010) | 927 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 8,219 people |
| Change since 2000 | +0.7% (37,298 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdɑd.sən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Dodge + -son and from Dodd + -son.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Dodson 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) | 81% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 12% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.4% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Dodson in the United States.

## People named Dodson

- Peter Dodson, American paleontologist
- Betty Dodson, American sex educator (1929–2020)
- Helen Dodson Prince, American astronomer
- Jack Dodson, American actor (1931-1994)
- John Dodson, American mixed martial arts fighter
- Francesca Root-Dodson, American actress

## Similar surnames

Dotson, Dodgen, Dudgeon.

## 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.