# Tyson (surname)

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

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | French |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 28,947 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,221 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 10,666 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.7% (27,911 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈtaɪsən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Tison, Dyson, Theisen, Theissen, Teisen, Teissen, Teison |

## Etymology

* A variant of Tison. A nickname from Old French tison (“firebrand”). * A patronymic English surname, variant of Dyson, from Dennis + -son. * In the US, adopted by a German family who came to America (Germantown, PA) in 1683, originally named German Teisen "son of Theiss", which was short for Matthias. Original spellings were Theisen, Theissen, Teisen, Teison.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Tyson 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) | 53% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 41% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 2.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Tyson in the United States.

## People named Tyson

- Mike Tyson, American boxer and media personality (born 1966)
- Neil deGrasse Tyson, American astrophysicist and science communicator
- Cicely Tyson, American actress (1924–2021)
- Laura Tyson, American business academic (born 1947)
- Richard Tyson, American actor
- Hunter Tyson, American basketball player (born 2000)
- Joseph J. Tyson, American Catholic prelate
- Jaylon Tyson, American basketball player (born 2002)

## Similar surnames

Tison, Tuason, Tecson, Toscano, Theisen, Thiessen, Tassone, Tassin, Tuazon, Teigen, Tashjian, Towson.

## 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.