CHESSON
Chesson is a surname of English origin, belonging to the class of locational surnames derived from the name of a parent or place. The name is found in the British Isles, particularly England, and its earliest use is connected to the medieval period.
Its etymology is linked to the medieval personal name Chesna, which itself is a variant of Chesney. The name Chesney is believed to have originated from a place name, possibly from a lost village in Lincolnshire or from a location called Chesne in Normandy, France. Consequently, the surname invites the interpretation that it was originally applied to a person who hailed from one of these places or who was given the personal name Chesna or Chesney.
Another source of the surname is the dialectal transposition of the place name Chesham in Buckinghamshire, itself transposed from Cestreham as recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. The place name derives from the Old English pre-7th-century words caester or ceaster, meaning “heap of stones”, and hamm, meaning a meadow, especially a flat low-lying meadow on a stream. As a locational surname it therefore denoted “one who lives by the water meadow with the heap of stones”.
The suffix ‑son in Chesson indicates a patronymic origin, signifying “son of Chess”. Here, Chess is another variant of the personal name Chesney, reinforcing the patronymic and locational aspects of the surname.
The first recorded spelling using the form Chesson appears in the marriage of Joan Chesson to John Cowley on 1 February 1538 at the Church of St. Lawrence Jewry, London. Earlier, the name is attested as Burchard de Cestreham in the Pipe Rolls of Berkshire in 1200 during the reign of King John I ‘Lackland’ 1199‑1216, confirming the House’s connection to the place name.
Over the centuries the surname has undergone various spelling mutations such as Cheysson, Chessone, Chessun, and others. Variants of the name are found throughout England, indicating the family's expansion and influence over time. The Chesson surname was carried to other parts of the world through migration and is now predominantly found in English‑speaking countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, although small numbers remain in other regions.
Despite its international spread, the surname Chesson remains relatively uncommon. Its association with place names, a patronymic suffix, and a historical record spanning eight centuries attest to its enduring heritage within the English onomastic tradition.
Typical given names associated with the Chesson surname
Male
- Andrew
- Anthony
- David
- John
- Mark
- Martin
- Michael
- Peter
- Richard
- Stephen
- Timothy
- William
Female
- Alison
- Amanda
- Amy
- Christine
- Elaine
- Grace
- Janet
- Louise
- Lynette
- Marilyn
- Nonie
- Sarah
- Valerie
- Winifred
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 Chesson in...
Braille
⠉⠓⠑⠎⠎⠕⠝
Morse
-.-............----.
Semaphore
There are approximately 310 people named Chesson in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around five in a million people in Britain are named Chesson.
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
