CASON

Cason is a surname of English provenance that, in addition to its Anglo‑Saxon roots, is also cognate with a Latin root through its derivation from the medieval given name Cassius.

The base of the name is the shortened form Cas or Cass, which historically served as a diminutive of the personal name Cassius or as a familiar form of Caspar. The suffix -son is a patronymic marker and indicates “son of Cas.” Consequently, the surname literally translates to “son of Cas.” The Latin personal name Cassius is thought to mean “empty, vain or hollow,” a meaning that may have initially functioned as a nickname.

In addition to the patronymic derivation, the surname is also associated with a locational origin. The name is linked to the village of Cawston in Norfolk, originally recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Caupstuna or Caustuna, and later as Causton in the Norfolk Pipe Rolls of 1159. The placename combines the Old Norse word kalfr (calf) with the Old English element tun (enclosure or homestead). The loss of the initial l is attributed to Norman influence.

Early documentary evidence of the surname surfaces in church registers of the sixteenth century. In 1567 the marriage of William Cason and Phillip Harte was recorded at Brumstead, Norfolk, and that same year Roger Cason witnessed the christening of his daughter Rose at Little Bealings, Suffolk. Likewise, a christening of Daniel, son of Thomas Cason, was noted at St. Mary’s, Stratford, Suffolk, on 22 December 1583.

Heraldic devices associated with the Cason family include an argent field bearing a sable chevron between three horses' heads erased gules. In other traditions another blazon appears with a red shield and a silver crescent accompanied by a mullet or eight‑pointed star, symbols interpreted as signifying divine favour or high aspiration.

Spelling variations have arisen through time and migration. The surname may appear as Cussen, Cusson, Caeson, Caesone, or be rendered with a preceding “de” as in de Cason. These variants reflect the lack of standardised orthography until modern times and the influence of Norman phonology.

Contemporary records indicate that the surname is most common in the United States, where it ranks as the 13,903rd most frequent name, and in England, where it is recorded as the 16,742nd. Within the United States it tends to be concentrated in the south‑eastern states of North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia, a pattern that echoes the settlement of English families in the region. Small numbers of individuals with the surname also exist in Canada, Australia and South Africa.

Thus, the surname Cason encompasses patronymic, locational and linguistic dimensions, reflecting a lineage that spans medieval England, the classical nomenclature of the Latin world and the Norse influences of early Anglo‑Saxon settlement.

Typical given names associated with the Cason surname

Male

• Christopher
• Darren
• David
• James
• John
• Jonathan
• Michael
• Miles
• Paul
• Peter
• Robert
• Stephen

Female

• Angela
• Christine
• Diane
• Donna
• Elizabeth
• Jacqueline
• Julie
• Marie
• Mary
• Melanie
• Sandra
• Sarah
• Susan
• Victoria

Similar and related surnames

Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.

How to communicate the surname Cason in...

Braille

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Morse

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Semaphore

Surname type: From name of parent

Origin: English

Region of origin: British Isles

Country of origin: England

Religion of origin: Christian

Language of origin: English

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