REASON
The surname Reason is of English origin and is recorded in the British Isles from the thirteenth century onwards.
Its earliest linguistic root stems from the Middle English word resoun, a cognate of the Modern English noun reason meaning logical thinking or sound judgement. The name was usually applied as a nickname to an individual who was noted for intellectual ability or rationality.
Following the Norman Conquest of 1066, the name was also influenced by the Old French word raison, meaning reasoning or intellectual faculty. This suggests that some bearers of the surname were originally denoted as “the reasoner” or “the thoughtful one” in medieval French‑English communities.
Another possible line of origin is patronymic, with the name derived from the medieval personal name Reason or Resoun, interpreted as “ardent, earnest”. Such a personal name, once popular in the Middle Ages for its moral or virtuous connotation, was later adopted as a hereditary surname.
Early documentary evidence of the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire under the spelling Henry Reson in 1273, during the reign of King Edward I. The name is also recorded at the Abbey of Crowland, Cambridgeshire, where a Roger Reusone is mentioned in 1292. The 1588 parish registers of London contain a christening of Annes Reason and a 1610 marriage record of Elizabeth Reason to William Harding in Edmonton, London.
In the 20th and 21st centuries the surname has persisted in English‑speaking societies. According to the 2010 United States Census, more than 26,000 people bear the surname Reason. In the United Kingdom the name is most common in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and over 20,000 individuals in the United Kingdom are recorded with the surname. The name also appears in Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada and South Africa, mainly as a result of migratory flows from Great Britain and Ireland.
Spelling variations have arisen as a result of orthographic practice and migration. Common English forms include Reeson, Raison and Rayson. Other variants found in different national contexts are: Rees, Reece, Reis, Reiss, Reiser, Rizzo and Rajes. In Irish contexts the surname may be rendered as Rease or Reece, while Scottish forms include MacRees and MacReese.
A coat of arms has been granted to individuals bearing the name. The blazon describes a red shield with a gold lion rampant; the first quarter contains a cross pattee vair, and the crest is a fox’s head erased proper.
Typical given names associated with the Reason surname
Male
- Alan
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
Female
- Carol
- Christine
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Gillian
- Jennifer
- Jill
- Joan
- Julie
- Karen
- Mary
- Sarah
- Shirley
- Susan
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 Reason in...
Braille
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Morse
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There are approximately 1,823 people named Reason in the UK. That makes it roughly the 4,542nd most common surname in Britain. Around 28 in a million people in Britain are named Reason.
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
Famous people named Reason
- Tom Reason - Welsh cricketer (1890 to 1935)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.