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Lawson Family History

Lawson Surname Meaning

Scottish and northern English: patronymic ‘son of Lawrence’; see Law. It is also found in Ireland since the 17th century.

Americanized form of Swedish Larsson and Danish, Norwegian, or North German Larsen.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: 

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

Where is the Lawson family from?

You can see how Lawson families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Lawson family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Lawson families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 114 Lawson families living in New York. This was about 14% of all the recorded Lawson's in USA. New York had the highest population of Lawson families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Lawson surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Lawson ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Farmer and Housekeeper were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Lawson. 17% of Lawson men worked as a Farmer and 8% of Lawson women worked as a Housekeeper. Some less common occupations for Americans named Lawson were Truck Driver and Teacher.

View Census Data for Lawson | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Farmer
    17%
  • Laborer
    17%
  • Salesman
    4%
  • Truck Driver
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Housekeeper
    8%
  • Maid
    7%
  • Housewife
    6%
  • Teacher
    5%

What Lawson family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 683,000 census records available for the last name Lawson. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Lawson census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Lawson

Passenger Lists

There are 89,000 immigration records available for the last name Lawson. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Lawson immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 104,000 military records available for the last name Lawson. For the veterans among your Lawson ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Lawson military records

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