The Mathison surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,316 people carried this name — #7,692 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 68,500 people counted. That is up 3% from 4,171 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Mathison surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

From Matthew + -son.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Mathison» (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 Mathew’.

An early record he cites: John fil. Mathie, Wiltshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls. Fil. is Latin for “son of”.

His entry covers Matheson, Mathison and Mathieson.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 520 · public domain.

In print

Mathison in American newspapers,
1906.

Newspaper page from The Miller Sun carrying the name Mathison
The Miller Sun 1906-04-18
Newspaper page from The Miller Sun carrying the name Mathison
The Miller Sun 1906-04-11
Newspaper page from The Miller Sun carrying the name Mathison
The Miller Sun 1906-04-04

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 14,373 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Mathison in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

4,319 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Mathison. The most, 914, date from the 1910s. 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 Queensland, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,570
Queensland 1,162
Victoria 1,123
South Australia 195
Tasmania 190
Western Australia 64
ACT (Canberra) 11

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

Who carried it

People named Mathison,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Gordon Mathison
    Gordon Mathison 1883–1915 · military personnel
  • Jimmy Mathison 1878–1911 · baseball player
  • Melissa Mathison 1950–2015 · screenwriter

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 Mathison,
in the records of 7 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 States450 records

450 records of the Mathison name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 109
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 109
  • Other U.S. records 232
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James T. Mathison

    Born 1926 in New York. Enlisted 1945 at New York City; machine shop worker from Kings County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1971, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Brian John Mathison

    Born 1944; from Park Ridge, Illinois. U.S. Navy, pilot; killed in action 1968 in Offshore, 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 Mathison

    Arrived at New York in 1834 aboard the Daedalus from Leith, aged 19; gardener. From Great Britain.

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

Showing 3 of 450 records for Mathison 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) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). 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).

Australia213 records

213 records of the Mathison name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 109
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 45
  • Other Australian records 59
  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 William Mathison

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Isabella, sailing from Woolwich in 1842. Native of Dumfries, Dumfriesshire.

    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 John Mathison

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Sea King, aged 32; 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 Christina Mathison

    Nurse of Melbourne, Victoria; died 1878.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 213 records for Mathison in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · 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).

Canada44 records

44 records of the Mathison name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 17
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 8
  • Other Canadian records 19
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Alfred Peter Mathison

    Buried in 1973 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 88.

    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 Dave Mathison

    Died 1932 in Dominion, Cape Breton, 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 Albert Mathison

    Died in service in 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 44 records for Mathison 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. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. 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).

United Kingdom13 records

13 records of the Mathison name in the United Kingdom
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 5
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 5
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record David Mathison

    Buried in 1830 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 38.

    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 Andrew Mathison

    Died 1917. Named in the University of Edinburgh roll of honour, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Mathison

    East Yorkshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Mathison in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

Netherlands12 records

12 records of the Mathison name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 5
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 4
  • Dutch population registers 3
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record George Mathison

    Married in 1761 in Rotterdam; sergeant.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Jean Mathison

    Married in 1816 in Amsterdam.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Evelijn Kate Mathison

    In the population register of Delft; born 1882 in Claphan.

    Open Archives, Archief Delft (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 12 records for Mathison in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

New Zealand3 records

3 records of the Mathison name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Sarah Anne Mathison

    Died 1965, aged 82; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Mathison

    Died 1982, aged 81; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Agnes Mathison

    Died 1971, aged 69; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: 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).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Mathison name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Gustav Mathison

    From Kiel. Reported missing in the Imperial Navy casualty list of 14 May 1919.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Mathison.

When the index is not enough

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