Harrison is a common patronymic surname of Northern English origin. It means "son of Harry" or "Herry", representing the Middle English pronunciation of the given name Henry.[1][2] It was in use by the 14th century.[2] It may also be spelt Harrisson, Harryson or Harrysson. Henrison also appears historically but is now rare.[2] Early records suggest that the surnames Harrison and Harris were used interchangeably by some families.
Pronunciation | /ˈhærɪsən/ HARR-i-sən |
---|---|
Origin | |
Word/name | English |
Meaning | "son of Harry" |
Region of origin | England |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Harris |
For the latest available census data from 2011, the UK government did not generate a list of surname frequencies.[3]
For the latest available census data from 2010, Harrison ranked as the 141st most common surname in the US with 181,091 entries, and Harris ranked as the 25th most common surname in the US with 624,252 entries.[4]
Notable people with the surname Harrison include: