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Manson
How to Pronounce Manson
Pronounced MAN-suhn /ˈmænsən/Medium
Meaning: Manson is a surname turned first name. In Scotland, especially Orkney and Shetland, it usually means 'son of Magnus', from the Norse-derived personal name Magnus, 'great'; elsewhere it can mean 'son of Mann', a medieval given name. As an American first name it belongs to the surname-as-forename tradition, carrying the plain patronymic sense of 'Magnus's son' with a faint echo of 'great' behind it.Medium
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Manson is a patronymic surname, strongest in the Scottish Northern Isles, where it meant 'son of Magnus', the Norse name for 'great'. In other regions it derived from Mann, an old personal name. American families adopted it as a first name in the surname-as-forename fashion, sometimes to carry a family surname forward as a son's given name.
Manson was always uncommon as a first name, drawing only a couple dozen boys a year even at its high around the nineteen-twenties. A boy named Manson then belongs to a great-grandfather's generation now. It reads as an old patronymic surname-name of the early twentieth century rather than a nursery favourite, and it is little used today.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Manson mean?
It is a surname-name, usually 'son of Magnus' in Scotland, or 'son of a man named Mann' elsewhere.
How do you pronounce Manson?
It's said MAN-suhn /ˈmænsən/, two syllables, stress on the first.
Is Manson a boy or girl name?
Manson is used as a boy's name.
Is Manson a popular name?
No, it has always been rare as a first name, a patronymic surname-name seen in small numbers in the early twentieth century.