The Judson surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,422 people carried this name — #7,524 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 66,700 people counted. That is up 4% from 4,253 in 2000.

See Judson on the map Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Judson surname

From a Middle English short form of the given name Jordan + son.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Judson» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Jordan’.

An early record he cites: Ricardus Jodson, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 437 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Judson was found among the farmers of Yorkshire, North and East Ridings: 8 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Yorkshire, North and East Ridings 8

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

70 families named Judson, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 431 people lived in those households, 6.2 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Connecticut 65
Vermont 2
Massachusetts 2
New York 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 247 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Judson in American newspapers,
1914–1919.

Newspaper page from Baptist Courier carrying the name Judson
Baptist Courier 1915-12-30
Newspaper page from Baptist Courier carrying the name Judson
Baptist Courier 1914-02-26
Newspaper page from The Central Record carrying the name Judson
The Central Record 1919-02-13

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Judson in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1980s.

3,713 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Judson. The most, 667, date from the 1920s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,708
Victoria 781
Western Australia 405
Queensland 294
Tasmania 261
South Australia 217
ACT (Canberra) 21
Northern Territory 2

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Judson.

Who carried it

People named Judson,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Adoniram Judson
    Adoniram Judson 1788–1850 · writer
  • Ann Hasseltine Judson
    Ann Hasseltine Judson 1789–1826 · missionary
  • Phoebe Judson
    Phoebe Judson 1831–1926 · writer
  • Adoniram Brown Judson
    Adoniram Brown Judson 1837–1916 · surgeon
  • Joseph Judson 1619–1690
  • Elnathan Judson 1712–1796

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Judson,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States682 records

682 records of the Judson name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 263
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 147
  • Other U.S. records 272
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Charles Judson

    Born 1909 in Michigan. Enlisted 1942 at Houston, Texas; auto mechanic from Harris County, Texas. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1975, buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Hampden Cutts Judson

    Born 1946; from St Paul, Minnesota. U.S. Army, air observation pilot; died in an accident 1967 in South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Judson

    Arrived at New York in 1878 aboard the City of Montreal from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 36; farmer. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 682 records for Judson in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia116 records

116 records of the Judson name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 54
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 23
  • Other Australian records 39
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Judson

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Countess of Harcourt, sailing from Portsmouth in 1821.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary S. Judson

    Arrived in Victoria in 1886 aboard the John Elder, aged 30; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Henry Judson

    Farmer of Joyces Creek, Victoria; died 1918.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 116 records for Judson in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada50 records

50 records of the Judson name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 38
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • Other Canadian records 9
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record John William Judson

    Buried in 1988 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 65.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Charles Murdock Judson

    Died 1954 in Inverness, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record William George Judson

    Died in service in 1918.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 50 records for Judson in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

New Zealand9 records

9 records of the Judson name in New Zealand
  • Waimakariri District cemetery records, Canterbury 5
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Sarah Amy Robina Judson

    Died 1995, aged 99; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Christina Mary Judson

    Died 1997; ashes interred at Oxford Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Judson

    Died 1959, aged 87; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Judson in New Zealand.

Counts: Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom8 records

8 records of the Judson name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 6
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jane Judson

    Buried in 1827 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 74.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record R. Judson

    Machine Gun Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jane Judson

    Buried in 1827 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 43.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 8 records for Judson in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Judson.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Judson is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Judson volume
Scroll to Top