ANSON

The son of Ann, or the same as Hanson, the son of Hans or John--the "H" being dropped in pronunciation.

Arthur, William (1857) An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. New York: Sheldon, Blakeman. Public Domain.

ANSON. Such names as An-son, Nelson, Bet-son, &c., have been regarded as a sort of mctron}Tiiics, and therefore considered indicative of illegitimac}' ; but I think there is little doubt of the former part of these names being in man) cases corruj)tions of masculine appellations. Anson is probably a contraction of Alanson.

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.